[Georgia's Public Defense System]

Abstract

During the second half of the 20th century, the United States Supreme Court increased the financial burden on state public defender systems by requiring that every defendant actually imprisoned – whether for a felony or a misdemeanor – be represented by counsel. In the late 20th century, state lawmakers began viewing imprisonment as a means of punishing, rather than rehabilitating, defendants. State lawmakers sought longer terms of imprisonment for criminals and were less willing to provide funds for indigent defender systems. In Georgia, the high cost of providing counsel for indigent defendants, combined with the “tough on crime” attitude of the Georgia legislature, created a budget crisis for the public defender system. This paper argues that unless the Georgia legislature increases the budget for the Georgia Public Defender Standards Counsel, Georgia must stop representing low-level misdemeanor defendants. [Introduction]