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Comment by zachrose | Hacker News Reader

Why doesn’t one do this?

Because it exposes their individual clients to greater risk?

Yes. It is unethical. Your duty is to your client, not to your public policy position, even if your political position is just and even if it would benefit other hypothetical clients in the future.

And this is exactly how it should be - people's futures shouldn't be bargaining chips to use to push through political reform, least of all the futures of those who may be wrongly accused.

If we want to see change in the justice system we need wider societal education and to force that change from the outside, but that butts up against a lot of "hard on crime" rhetoric.

It's unethical to charge defendants with crimes that a prosecutor truly believes they can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt.

So therefore it's unethical for a prosecutor to accept a plea deal less than all charges.

"In the interest of Justice" is a pretty thin excuse.

Unfortunately, while I wish you were correct, you are not. I often wish ethics committees of state bars would adopt the ABA Criminal Justice Standards on the Prosecution Function, specifically Standard 3-4.3(a), but they have not. The ethical standard is "probable cause."

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/criminal_justice/standard...

I stand corrected. I forgot that!

I understand this and it makes sense.

How can a public defender ethically represent a client when they have so little time to prepare for a case? If you have 30 cases at a time and minutes to spend with your client how can you do your job to the standard deserved by a defendant?

If the above isn't too difficult, then suspending plea deals shouldn't be much of a stretch?

Many cases on the misdemeanor docket can legitimately be summed up in a few minutes. For example, there are only two elements to DWLS... were you driving? was your license suspended? Cruiser video, officer testimony, and certified DMV records are enough.

For others, you can always request a continuance and make sure you put on the record that the current timeline will force you to be ineffective.

Would it still be unethical if your client was supportive of the larger strategy?

If your client were unaware of the strategy, would it be unethical to tell them?

In some cases, the defendant can't afford bail and would be forced to sit in jail until the trial.

In these cases, the public defender waives the right to a speedy trial. It's how defendants are allowed to be held without trial for an excessive amount of time.

They just have to not waive that right and the trial must proceed within 70 days or so.

I think that depends on the state and details. If you're not in custody, the limit is generally measured in years.

If public defenders are waiving that right without informed consent, then people need to file complaints with the bar

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