Texas is experiencing a crisis in its public defense system, and Travis County is no exception.
The right to counsel during trial has always been guaranteed under the Sixth Amendment, but since 1963,has ensured a free lawyer to criminal defendants who can't afford one on their own – it just didn't specify how they would get one. In Texas, counties are required to design their own patchwork of public defense for indigent clients with little help from the state, which has punted 87% of funding responsibilities for defense to already cash-strapped counties.
As the legal services offered by the county grew haphazardly, the executive in charge of Justice Planning had more and more responsibilities,"and it did sort of create some potential for conflicts," executive director of CAPDS Bradley Hargis says.
“Because the role of the public defense function is to protect our friends and neighbors from government overreach, the public defender’s office is the most in need of independence.”Aside from questioning the need for the new position, Ogunkeyede says the county executive model is essentially what they have now and doesn't represent comprehensive change in how the county does defense.
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