Lawsuit: Fresno County public defenders overworked (xpost from LBN)

Source: AP

Overworked public defenders in Fresno County are pressuring indigent defendants to plead guilty and leaving them to spend extended time in jail before trial instead of addressing their cases quickly, the American Civil Liberties says in a lawsuit.

The lawsuit accuses the county of grossly underfunding the public defender's office. It was filed Tuesday on behalf of Peter Yepez, who says he spent almost a year in jail before he was interviewed by a public defender about the facts of a robbery and stolen property case against him.

He says the lawyers assigned to his case advised him to plead guilty, though he maintained his innocence. He eventually pleaded no contest.

Calls to the public defender's office and the county were not immediately returned.


Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_28487617/lawsuit-fresno-county-public-defenders-overworked

h/t n00b chirpio!