Public Defenders: The Friction in the Machine
CATO | 2026-03-19 | society
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English Summary
This article argues that public defenders serve as an essential check on state power in the criminal justice system, acting as 'friction in the machine' that prevents governmental overreach and protects constitutional rights. Drawing on the author's experience as a public defender in Pueblo, Colorado, and the legacy of Gideon v. Wainwright, the piece contends that plea-driven mass adjudication has displaced jury trials while jails overflow with low-level offenders even as clearance rates for serious crimes decline. The author highlights that with over 5,000 federal statutory crimes and 400,000 regulatory offenses, virtually anyone could face prosecution, making robust public defense a universal safeguard. The implications point toward the need for greater investment in indigent defense and reforms to bail and plea-bargaining systems to restore the adversarial process the Framers intended.
中文摘要
本文主張，公設辯護人在刑事司法體系中扮演制衡國家權力的關鍵角色，猶如「機器中的摩擦力」，防止政府權力過度擴張並捍衛憲法權利。作者援引自身在科羅拉多州普韋布洛擔任公設辯護人的經驗，以及「乙乙案訴溫賴特案」（Gideon v. Wainwright）的司法遺產，指出認罪協商驅動的大規模裁決已取代陪審團審判，監獄因輕罪犯罪者而人滿為患，重大犯罪的破案率卻持續下降。作者強調，鑑於聯邦法律中超過五千項法定罪名及四十萬項行政違規條款，幾乎任何人都可能面臨起訴，因此健全的公設辯護制度實為全民的普遍保障。文章指出，應加大對貧困被告辯護的投資，並改革保釋及認罪協商制度，以恢復制憲者所設想的對抗式訴訟程序。
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