[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 164 (Monday, November 18, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1688-E1689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    SUPPORTING THE RIGHT TO COUNSEL

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. SUZANNE BONAMICI

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 12, 2013

  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 196. Since 
the founding of the Republic, the right to an attorney in a federal 
criminal prosecution has been enshrined in the Bill of Rights, and 
fifty years ago the Supreme Court reiterated that commitment and 
applied it to the states in Gideon v. Wainwright. But though the 
Constitution, the Court, and the Criminal Justice Act establish this 
right, Congress still must provide adequate resources before it can be 
a reality.
   Public defenders serve as the backbone of this constitutional 
promise. Federal public defenders ensure access to counsel and other 
necessary criminal defense services for those who are indigent. Public 
defenders not only help to maintain confidence in the nation's 
commitment to equal justice under the law, but also ensure the 
successful operation of the constitutionally based adversary system of 
justice through which Federal criminal laws and federally guaranteed 
rights are enforced. In addition, adequately funded federal public 
defenders save money for the federal treasury by reducing pre- and 
post-trial incarceration costs.
   At the federal level, 81 public defender organizations nationwide 
represent 60 percent of all criminal defendants in the federal court 
system. In the judicial branch, where costs are heavily concentrated in 
personnel, the sequester cuts have led to furloughs, staff reduction 
through attrition, and as a last resort, layoffs. As a result, trials 
have been delayed and attorneys have been forced to take on even larger 
caseloads. This has an effect on the entire federal criminal justice 
system, delaying justice for everyone, whether innocent or guilty.
   Although many federal agencies can choose to do less when fewer 
resources are available, the federal judiciary does not have the option 
to reduce its own workload when budget cuts threaten. In criminal 
matters, when the U.S. Attorney decides to prosecute an indigent 
defendant, the Constitution requires the government to provide 
assistance of counsel. As pointed out by Justice Anthony Kennedy before 
the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government on March 
14, 2013, because the Constitution requires the court to appoint 
counsel for an indigent criminal defendant, if there are fewer public 
defenders available the court must employ private attorneys, often at a 
higher cost.
   This resolution will pass the House overwhelmingly, as well it 
should. But today I challenge my colleagues to put real force behind 
their words and expressions of support for the Sixth Amendment right to 
counsel. I implore them to support full funding for the Federal 
Defender Services. I urge support for this resolution.

[[Page E1689]]



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