Opinion ID: 1881163
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Need for a Statewide Indigent Defense System

Text: ¶ 61. The Mississippi Constitution, Article 3, § 26, has been interpreted to create a duty on the part of the state to provide effective assistance of counsel to indigent defendants. See Quitman I, 807 So.2d at 406-07. This Court has recognized that this means that indigent defendants must be provided with the tools of an adequate defense. Harrison v. State, 635 So.2d 894, 901 (Miss.1994) (citing Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68, 77, 105 S.Ct. 1087, 84 L.Ed.2d 53 (1985)). Further, this Court has recognized that these tools which are necessary to construct an adequate defense vary depending on the facts and circumstances of each case. Harrison, 635 So.2d at 901 (citing State v. Acosta, 41 Or.App. 257, 597 P.2d 1282, 1284 (1979)). Among these tools which allow defendants to construct an adequate defense is the right to counsel. The Sixth Amendment provides, In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. The U.S. Supreme Court has construed this to mean that in federal courts counsel must be provided for defendants unable to employ counsel unless the right is competently and intelligently waived. Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 339-40, 83 S.Ct. 792, 9 L.Ed.2d 799 (1963). In Gideon, the Supreme Court recognized the dire importance of the right to counsel and ruled that the Sixth Amendment provides that in all criminal prosecutions that the accused shall enjoy the right to assistance of counsel for his defense, and that this right is made obligatory on the states by the Fourteenth amendment, and indigent defendants in criminal prosecutions in states courts enjoy the same right. Id. at 342-44, 83 S.Ct. 792. Because the Supreme Court has deemed the right to counsel for indigents in state prosecutions to be fundamental, the State of Mississippi bears the ultimate responsibility to ensure that this right is preserved. After all, the crime which the defendant is accused of is against the peace and tranquility of the State. The State will shoulder the ultimate financial responsibility of housing the defendant provided that the State is successful in its prosecution. And it will be the state judiciary which will ultimately hear and decide any appeals. ¶ 62. I am convinced that Quitman County's indigent defense system wholly fails to measure up to legal as well as recognized, authoritative standards. To this end, Quitman's system is in fact delivering constitutionally inadequate assistance of counsel to indigent defendants. The Quitman County indigent defense system fails across the board to safeguard the most fundamental protections necessary for the equitable administration of justice. Mississippi has neglected to ensure that the indigent defense systems in the counties are able to operate independently, that workloads are controlled, that appropriate oversight is in place, and that defendants are allowed confidential access to an attorney who will investigate the facts of each case. The flaws apparent in Quitman's system are not unique. Rather, they are the result of the fundamental problem in a part-time, county-based system that lacks state funding and uniformity. In essence, the State of Mississippi has failed to establish or fund a system of indigent defense that is equipped to provide all defendants with the tools of an adequate defense, and has therefore fallen short of its constitutional obligation. Therefore, I would reverse the trial court's judgment and remand this case to the trial court for further remedial proceedings. For these reasons, I respectfully dissent. DICKINSON, J., JOINS THIS OPINION.