Public Defender System: Gideon V. Wainwright

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Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) is important for poor defendants in the country, even now. Regardless of income or social standing, each criminal defendant gets defense counsel. However, the public defender system is not working the way it should. The main problem with the public defender system is the amount of caseloads. Many cases do not go to trial so the defendants are not always heard. Many take the plea to get lower sentences. The defendants may have to live in prison and suffer from the label of felon. With the overwhelming caseloads, public defender do not have time to work thoroughly on the cases (Siegel, Schmalleger, and Worrall, 2017, p. 243). Public defenders should get more support staff to help in preparation of cases even though

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