There are few constitutional provisions more important than the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of a right to defense counsel. That civil liberty, which applies even for indigent defendants who can’t afford their own attorney, is the cornerstone of the United States criminal justice system and a critical component of due process. In the legal community, it’s understood that criticizing an attorney who defends an unpopular defendant—especially a public defender assigned to an impoverished client—is inappropriate, offensive, and unprofessional. Public defenders who represent disreputable defendants are fulfilling the requirements of the Constitution; to condemn them for doing so is, in a very real sense, to condemn the Sixth Amendment itself.
But in the brewing nomination fight over a replacement for Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, the Judicial Crisis Network has thrown that long-held understanding out the window. An arch-conservative group lobbying congressional Republicans to block any Obama nominee, the JCN has begun preemptively smearing names on the president’s Supreme Court shortlist. Recently, JCN chief counsel Carrie Severino penned a reprehensible article in National Review targeting Jane Kelly, a federal judge who previously served as a public defender and has been discussed as a potential Scalia replacement. Severino highlighted Kelly’s defense of Casey Frederiksen, a convicted child molester who was accused of child pornography possession. Kelly helped negotiate a plea deal for Frederiksen, in part by noting that his psychologist believed he was not a threat to society. In other words, she did her job. Full Article
To many unanswered questions still remains in regards to Justice Scalia’s untimely death then quick embalming without autopsy. In the interest of justice and respect to the soon to be president we should IMO pause the process until after the November elections and allow the new president to add his respective candidate to the hearings. This would give we the people two choices to compare during the confirmation process. This way if Obama’s selection is confirmed he is not beholding to Obama nor to any party (technically they’re not anyway) but to the people. The next president might just agree with Obama’s choice and not go with someone else. Due to Salia’s untimely questionable death this would be the only REASONABLE answer. Everything around his death and how it was handled stinks of fowl play. Obama when Bush was appointing someone went bullistic about it…why not support Obama’s past reasoning here? What do you think?
I think the Supreme court is now nothing more the a nine member wing of the Congress and the judges are “elected” by whatever party has the majority on the sole grounds of party orthodoxy, not on their ability to apply the Constitution impartially.
Writer Mark Joseph Stern of Slate.com is right on point that the Constitution demands it..commands it that every person has the right of attorney.
Good article defending the Constitution. Its Mr.Stern and Slate.com . Good articles.
Found this article very interesting about the lack of criminal defense justices on the supreme court
http://www.vox.com/2016/3/28/11306422/supreme-court-prosecutors-career