Public Defenders

With its refusal to impose oversight or consistent standards in local defense, Mississippi risks falling further behind the rest of the U.S., critics say.

Mississippi is known as one of the worst states for public defense. In one lower court, most defendants went without any lawyer before indictment.

And there isn’t much the court can do to enforce it, the Supreme Court justice said in a hearing focused on the state’s public defense woes.

Six years ago, the Mississippi Supreme Court told judges around the state to file plans showing how they meet their obligations to poor defendants. So far, only one has.

A rule requiring poor criminal defendants to have a lawyer throughout the criminal process took effect Saturday.