Gideon’s Army

Tonight at 9 pm is the HBO premiere of Gideon's Army, a documentary that follows three public defenders as they struggle to bring justice to the clients they are responsible for representing against overwhelming odds.  It is rare that a film so accurately portrays the unique challenges of working for the people society would rather lock up and forget.

The three young public defenders in the film are participants in the training program Gideon’s Promise (formerly the Southern Public Defender Training Center).  Gideon’s Promise supports new public defenders as they confront the long hours, low pay and staggering caseloads that often cause even the most committed to give up.

Much has been written of this year being the fiftieth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Gideon v. Wainright, guaranteeing each person accused of a crime the right to appointed counsel  (see articles here  and here and discussion here).

At this 50 year mark, the public defender system is in crisis.  The numbers are staggering. Each year in the United States, over 12 million people are arrested. Eighty percent of the individuals that make their way through the criminal justice system are represented by one of only 15,000 public defenders. 

For a sense of how national spending is tipping of the scales of justice, look at where the money is going:

(For this and other great graphics, see Mother Jones article on the broken public defender system here )

In the face of these challenges, public defenders continue to fight each day for the fair treatment of the indigent accused.