The Louisiana Project: A Study of the Louisiana Defender System and Attorney Workload Standards – February 2017 by Postlethwaite & Netterville, APAC and the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants provides a startling example of the gigantic fraud that is the American legal system.
Using standards for the number of hours required for adequate legal representation the report summarizes its findings as:
As of October 31, 2016, the Louisiana public defense system employed approximately 363 FTE public defenders. Therefore, the Delphi Method’s process indicates the Louisiana public defense system is currently deficient 1,406 FTE attorneys. Alternatively, based on the Delphi Method’s results and analysis presented herein, the Louisiana public defense system currently only has capacity to handle 21 percent of the workload in compliance with the Delphi Panel’s consensus opinions.
Other articles on this topic:
Mass Incarceration – The New Jim Crow – Michelle Alexander
Recently Noted – John Thompson and Justice – Prosecution With No Recourse
The US Wins Again – Incarceration in Global Context