I understand that he could replace his attorney with one that he would hire, but what I was getting at is addressing the problem of public attorneys in general. We need to hire more of them, and they need to be held to a high standard. That could and probably would entail higher pay. If, for someone without means, the quality of your legal representation is luck of the draw among a hand full of short sticks, the system is unfair and broken. Which I’m quite sure it is.
I’m trying to remember the figure of cases resolved by plea bargain, it was very very high. I think part of the reason for that is that charges can be stacked in large amounts, and preparing a capable defense for all those charges requires a lot of time to invest. Split that time among multiple clients and you have an uphill battle with a cliff. It becomes infeasible to actually go through with a full trial because it’s impossible to be adequately prepared for one.
I’ve heard it suggested to remove plea bargains entirely, though I’m not sure that is the answer. Perhaps a limit on the amount of charges with the exception of serious counts, such as multiple murders.
