ESSAY3 That essay argues that the right to counsel in Gideon "has not been realized. Governments have failed to adequately fund defense systems, many judges tolerate or welcome inadequate representation, and the Supreme Court has refused to require competent representation, instead adopting a standard of ‘effective counsel’ that hides and perpetuates deficient representation." With regard to the election of judges, Wilkinson says potential for corruption or “the undue influence lies on the civil side,” but not a word about the many instances in which appellate and trial judges have been voted off the bench because of their votes in criminal cases, the concern expressed by Justices [John Paul] Stevens and [Sonia] and SOTOMAYOR4 acknowledged by almost everyone that elections account for why Alabama judges override jury sentences of life imprisonment and impose death sentences, and the tough on crime advertisements that dominate judicial campaigns. SOTOMAYOR4 Justice Sotomayor wrote about judicial overrides in dissent last year in Woodward v. Alabama, a case in which an elected judge overruled a jury's verdict that a convicted murderer receive a life sentence instead of the death penalty. A judge’s inability to follow the Constitution in a criminal case because he or she will be voted out of office in the next election if the ruling or decision is against the prosecution, is
ESSAY3 That essay argues that the right to counsel in Gideon "has not been realized. Governments have failed to adequately fund defense systems, many judges tolerate or welcome inadequate representation, and the Supreme Court has refused to require competent representation, instead adopting a standard of ‘effective counsel’ that hides and perpetuates deficient representation." With regard to the election of judges, Wilkinson says “the potential for corruption or undue influence lies on the civil side,” but not a word about the many instances in which appellate and trial judges have been voted off the bench because of their votes in criminal cases, the concern expressed by Justices [John Paul] Stevens and [Sonia] SOTOMAYOR4 and acknowledged by almost everyone that elections account for why Alabama judges override jury sentences of life imprisonment and impose death sentences, and the tough on crime advertisements that dominate judicial campaigns. SOTOMAYOR4 Justice Sotomayor wrote about judicial overrides in dissent last year in Woodward v. Alabama, a case in which an elected judge overruled a jury's verdict that a convicted murderer receive a life sentence instead of the death penalty. A judge’s inability to follow the Constitution in a criminal case because he or she will be voted out of office in the next election if the ruling or decision is against the prosecution, is
Is%20the%20Criminal%20Justice%20System%20Defensible.docx