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Those who've followed the cypherpunks list for many years know Jim Bell. Of Assassination Politics (AP) fame. So maybe a year or two ago, he proposed setting u

Those who've followed the cypherpunks list for many years know Jim Bell. Of Assassination Politics (AP) fame. So maybe a year or two ago, he proposed setting up a GoFundMe-style NGO that would take every federal criminal case to trial. The argument being that it wouldn't take more than 10% (or whatever) to overload the system. And so defendants would get cases tossed based on the 6th Amendment.

ryacko 7y ago
One billion dollars is spent per year on public defenders. The Justice Department spends twenty-eight billion dollars. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/us/public-defenders-are-tightening-belts-because-of-steep-federal-budget-cuts.html https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/us/public-defenders-are-t...
- mirimir 7y ago
  So it'd be a huge NGO, I guess.
- mirimir 7y ago
  Also, from that article: > The result, said lawmakers, judges and public defenders, are court delays that might violate defendants’ rights to speedy trials and could lead to the dismissal of criminal cases. That does imply that the system is close to overload.
ThrustVectoring 7y ago
The problem with this is that prosecutors have the discretion to offer more and more lopsided plea deals in order to fix the backlog of cases, and discretion to go after defendants that insist on a trial as hard as possible. Are you really going to turn down 6 months if there's a very real chance that you're going to get 25-to-life through a trial? If insisting on a trial means you spend weeks in prison and lose your job and house? The solution is to give money to people who insist on or get a jury trial. Enough to make the "wait in jail for a trial instead of getting released immediately" feasible for people with families, and enough to make the risk of greater sentences at trial worth risking.
- mirimir 7y ago
  Yeah, those were the main criticisms, as I recall. In practice, only people who actually wanted a jury trial would participate. And I gather they'd get funded for bail and/or family expenses, plus representation. Also, is it really likely that defendants who might get 25 to life are being offered six months?

ryacko 7y ago

One billion dollars is spent per year on public defenders. The Justice Department spends twenty-eight billion dollars. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/us/public-defenders-are-tightening-belts-because-of-steep-federal-budget-cuts.html https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/us/public-defenders-are-t...

mirimir 7y ago
So it'd be a huge NGO, I guess.
mirimir 7y ago
Also, from that article: > The result, said lawmakers, judges and public defenders, are court delays that might violate defendants’ rights to speedy trials and could lead to the dismissal of criminal cases. That does imply that the system is close to overload.

ThrustVectoring 7y ago

The problem with this is that prosecutors have the discretion to offer more and more lopsided plea deals in order to fix the backlog of cases, and discretion to go after defendants that insist on a trial as hard as possible. Are you really going to turn down 6 months if there's a very real chance that you're going to get 25-to-life through a trial? If insisting on a trial means you spend weeks in prison and lose your job and house? The solution is to give money to people who insist on or get a jury trial. Enough to make the "wait in jail for a trial instead of getting released immediately" feasible for people with families, and enough to make the risk of greater sentences at trial worth risking.

mirimir 7y ago
Yeah, those were the main criticisms, as I recall. In practice, only people who actually wanted a jury trial would participate. And I gather they'd get funded for bail and/or family expenses, plus representation. Also, is it really likely that defendants who might get 25 to life are being offered six months?