State's chief judge says system fails poor

ALBANY -- New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman said yesterday that the state's legal system fails to protect the rights of the poor, who far too often get arraigned and jailed without having a lawyer to represent them.

In his Law Day address, Lippman promised that in a year it will be normal for all defendants in New York to have attorneys at their first court appearance, acknowledging it's mainly a problem in rural regions and reportedly routine in town and village courts.

"The arraignment and pretrial jailing of defendants who are not represented by counsel is a fundamental failure that can no longer be tolerated in a modern, principled society governed by the rule of law," Lippman said.

The new state Office of Indigent Legal Services has noted excessive caseloads for public defenders, inadequate investigation and poor training and supervision, said the chief judge, who chairs its board. It is starting to use grants and work with counties, defense attorneys, prosecutors, judges and other stakeholders in pursuing measures like centralized arraignments, streamlined procedures and using new technology and remote communications.

"Certainly it is largely a rural court phenomenon," Legal Services executive director William Leahy said afterward. He said the issue is not just having a lawyer but "effective representation," and it comes up in cities as well. He and Lippman said they couldn't quantify how often it happened.

To change practices, the office is making a transition from straight payments to localities based solely on expenditures for indigent defense more toward payments based on performance, quality and need, Lippman said. -- AP