Lawsuit Challenges the State's Public Defender System

Poor New Yorkers facing criminal charges across the state are appearing in arraignments without attorneys in violation of their constitutional rights, according to a new report from the New York Civil Liberties Union.

The group is suing New York State for its failure to create a proper public defense system in Long Island's Suffolk County and three upstate counties.

Corey Stoughton, lead counsel in the case, said that even when public defenders are assigned, they can’t represent their clients well. “When lawyers do appear, they are often overwhelmed by hundreds more cases than any reasonable person, even a superhuman lawyer, could handle,” she said.

The New York State bar recommends that lawyers don’t carry more than 150 felony case a year. The NYCLU says public defenders in New York State carry as many as 420.

The NYCLU class-action lawsuit, the first of its kind, is set to go on trial in October in Albany. New York City, where public defenders' caseloads do not exceed national standards, is not a part of the lawsuit.