Hurrell-Harring v. State of New York, Lack of Funding for Public Defenders, New York 2014

Justice Department Secures Historic Settlement to Improve Right to Counsel in New York State

Attorney General Eric Holder hailed the outcome in a lawsuit challenging the lack of funding for public defender programs in five counties in New York State, calling the finalized settlement in the case a major step forward.

In September 2014, the Justice Department had filed a statement of interest in the case, known as Hurrell-Harring v. State of New York. This represented the first time the department addressed the constructive denial of counsel in state courts. After extensive negotiations, the parties reached a settlement, which Judge Gerald Connolly of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Albany County, has now signed.

The settlement agreement, which applies to five New York counties, guarantees that indigent criminal defendants will have legal counsel at arraignment, establishes and implements caseload and workload standards for public defenders, provides for effective supervision and training of public defenders, and sets new indigency standards for determining whether a defendant is entitled to public counsel.

"This settlement marks a major step forward in the safeguarding of the essential right to effective legal representation, which stands at the core of America’s criminal justice system," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "It is simply unacceptable that, today – more than half a century after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Gideon v. Wainright affirmed the right to counsel for low-income defendants – America’s indigent defense systems continue to exist in a state of crisis, and inequities remain all too common."

The case was filed in 2007 and brought by former indigent defendants who faced criminal charges in Onondaga, Ontario, Schuyler, Suffolk, and Washington counties in the state of New York. Defendant: Hurrell-Harring and other indigent defendants. Charges: Lack of funding for public defenders. City and State: Albany, New York. Date: 2014. Outcome: Settlement agreement ensuring fair representation for indigent defendants. Amount: N/A. Defendant Name: Hurrell-Harring and other indigent defendants. Crime: Lack of funding for public defenders. State: New York. Year: 2014.}

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