FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 3/26/03 10:00 am
MEDIA CONTACT: Sara Totonchi 404/688-1202 or 404/314-2230 cell stotonchi@schr.org

Justice is Criminal in South Georgia
Right to Counsel Lawsuit Filed Against Cordele Circuit

CORDELE, GEORGIA – The right to counsel - the most basic protection against unlawful imprisonment and the most fundamental constitutional right, upon which the enforcement of every other right depends - is being systematically denied to poor people accused of crimes in the four counties of the Cordele Judicial Circuit (Cordele).

Forty years after the United States Supreme Court's decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, establishing the right to counsel for poor people accused of crimes, and thirty years after the Supreme Court condemned "assembly line justice," people who cannot afford a lawyer are routinely processed through the courts in Ben Hill, Crisp, Dooly, and Wilcox counties in assembly-line fashion in violation of this fundamental right.

Edward T. M. Garland and Don Samuel of Garland, Samuel and Loeb, P.C., Al Pearson of Moraitakis, Kushel & Pearson, and the Southern Center for Human Rights are filing a lawsuit in the Superior Court of Crisp County, to replace proceedings which are now a hollow formality with fair proceedings at which the accused are capably represented, and to achieve fair and equal justice for all, as guaranteed by the constitutions and laws of Georgia and the United States.

"There is a total disregard for fairness by everyone in the system," says Stephen Bright, director of the Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR) and one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, "About half the people accused of crimes do not even get to speak to a lawyer. Those who do talk to a lawyer only get 10 or 15 minutes. People are being processed, not represented."

The lawsuit states:

• Almost one half of all indigent people charged with crimes enter guilty pleas without consulting with a lawyer who represents their interests;
   
• The Superior Court Judges fail to warn unrepresented defendants of the dangers and disadvantages of self-representation before entering a plea. In misdemeanor cases, judges do not advise indigent defendants that a lawyer will be provided for them if they cannot afford one.
   
• In many instances, the district attorney speaks with unrepresented defendents and encourages them to negotiate a guilty plea directly with her without the assistance of counsel;
   
• Poor people accused of crimes often languish in jail for weeks or months to meet the overburdened contract lawyer appointed to defend them;
   
• Those who bond out of jail often meet their appointed lawyer in court for the first time at arraignment, talk for a few minutes, and enter a guilty plea. Because of overwhelming caseloads, the contract lawyers often do not conduct an independent investigation of the charge and the client's background and circumstances, research legal issues, filing motions or otherwise prepare for the case.

This is the most recent in a series of lawsuits filed by this team of attorneys challenging Georgia’s failure to provide lawyers for poor people accused of crimes. One of these suits, filed in August 2001 against Coweta County – where over half of poor people accused of crimes pled guilty to felonies without ever receiving assistance of counsel– resulted in the establishment of a county Public Defender’s Office. Another suit, filed in September, 2002 against Fulton County and its ten municipalities ended people languishing in jail for months without lawyers.

"Georgia’s system of providing lawyers for poor people is a disgrace, " Bright continues. "The Legislature must act to address this enormous problem, or lawsuits will continue to be filed to bring each county in this state into compliance with the Constitution."

Attorneys are available for interview, please contact Sara Totonchi at 404/688-1202 or 404/314-2230.

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For a copy of this complaint, click here.