The Pennsylvania Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Wednesday that indigent defendants may sue counties to ensure that public defenders’ offices are more adequately funded. The case presented the issue of: “whether a cause of action exists entitling a class of indigent criminal defendants to allege prospective, systemic violations of the right to counsel due to underfunding, and to seek and obtain an injunction forcing a county to provide adequate funding to a public defender’s office.” Justice David Wecht wrote the opinion and concluded that when:

the level of funding provided by a county to operate a public defender’s office has left that office incapable of complying with Gideon [opinion, PDF], creating the likelihood of a systematic, widespread constructive denial of counsel in contravention of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution [injunctive relief may be granted].

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania called the decision [press release] “critical to the ability of poor defendants to receive an effective legal defense.”

The right to counsel at trial is constitutionally codified in the Sixth amendment and the duty for states to provide counsel to those who could not afford it themselves was established through Supreme Court precedent. While there are certain situations in the civil sector that do not require representation [JURIST report] the right to counsel when a party may be imprisoned has long been held. In January the ACLU filed a class action lawsuit [JURIST report] against the New Orleans Public Defenders Office and the Louisiana Public Defender Board due to the lack of available public defenders for individuals with no access to an attorney. The ACLU claims that as a result of the lack of state funding for public defenders, individuals are forced to wait months in jail without counsel or accept bail and plea negotiations which can have irreparable effects on their case.