Does the Right to Counsel Actually Exist In the U.S.?
Current Affairs14 Des 2021

Does the Right to Counsel Actually Exist In the U.S.?

Today's guest is Stephen Bright, one of the best criminal defense attorneys in the United States. Prof. Bright teaches at Yale Law School and Georgetown Law, but has spent most of his life working as an advocate for poor people accused of serious crimes. During his decades in charge of the Southern Center For Human Rights, he argued multiple times in front of the U.S. Supreme Court and represented defendants some of the most difficult death penalty cases. Today we discuss the status of the right to a lawyer in the United States. Constitutionally, everyone is guaranteed an adequate defense, but in practice, the amount of representation one gets is based on the amount of money one can spend, and public defenders offices vary wildly across the country. Nobody is better familiar with the situation than Prof. Bright, whose writings include:

Counsel for the Poor: The Death Penalty Not for the Worst Crime But for the Worst Lawyer (1994)

Fifty Years of Defiance and Resistance After Gideon v. Wainwright (2013) (w/ Sia Sanneh)

Prof. Bright has produced an entire 40-part online course on issues of race and class as they apply to capital punishment, which is available for free on YouTube:

Capital Punishment: Race, Poverty, and Disadvantage

More of his work defending capital cases can be seen in the 2005 documentary film Fighting For Life In The Death Belt, which can be viewed free online.

His lecture to Stanford law students on the ethical responsibilities of lawyers can be viewed here.

Episoder(600)

UNLOCKED: The Lyta, The Witch & The Wardrobe

UNLOCKED: The Lyta, The Witch & The Wardrobe

UNLOCKED FROM THE PATREON BIRD FEED: Current Affairs amusements editor Lyta Gold, senior editor Brianna Rennix, contributing editor Aisling McCrea and friend of the pod Dan Walden continue our "proble...

2 Jun 20191h 1min

#26: Standardized Litmus Tests

#26: Standardized Litmus Tests

The Current Affairs panel discusses the recent addition of the "adversity score" to the SAT, determines the appropriate abortion litmus test for the left, and goes around sharing things that made them...

29 Mai 20191h 24min

UNLOCKED: Tiffany Cabán on running for district attorney as a public defender

UNLOCKED: Tiffany Cabán on running for district attorney as a public defender

UNLOCKED from the bird feed to the main feed just in time for AOC's endorsement: Current Affairs legal wonks Oren Nimni and Vanessa A. Bee sit down with Tiffany Cabán, a career public defender who is ...

23 Mai 201942min

#25: Voicemailbag V

#25: Voicemailbag V

The Current Affairs panel opens up the phone lines for the fifth time, answering voicemails about: the new 2020 candidates, Medicare for All, irony, government services, and changing people's minds. T...

11 Mai 201947min

#24: The Department of Glass Castles

#24: The Department of Glass Castles

The Current Affairs panel asks “what’s the problem with technocrats?”, debates whether it’s bad that Bernie Sanders is now a millionaire, and proposes our favorite imaginary cabinet positions. The Pa...

28 Apr 201959min

UNLOCKED: Jane McAlevey on organizing vs. mobilizing

UNLOCKED: Jane McAlevey on organizing vs. mobilizing

UNLOCKED FROM THE BIRD FEED: Current Affairs host Pete Davis sits down with labor organizer and scholar Jane McAlevey to talk about organizing for power in the New Gilded Age. Jane is a contributing w...

25 Apr 201941min

UNLOCKED: Virgil Texas on the Chapo Trap House phenomenon

UNLOCKED: Virgil Texas on the Chapo Trap House phenomenon

UNLOCKED FROM THE PATREON BIRD FEED: Current Affairs host Pete Davis talks with Virgil Texas about his hit podcast, Chapo Trap House: its origins, its philosophy, its style, its future. Read Virgil's ...

15 Apr 201950min

#23: You Can Call Me (Weird) Al

#23: You Can Call Me (Weird) Al

The Current Affairs panel discuss why they fight in the first place and then share what cultural products are their favorite lefty gateway drugs. The Panel Sparky Abraham, finance editor Lyta Gold, a...

12 Apr 201951min

Populært innen Humor

rss-spartsklubben
papaya
enkel-servering
harm-og-hegseth
tore-og-haralds-podkast
storefri-med-mikkel-og-herman
tusvik-tnne
topp-3-med-wold-og-fladseth
ma-pa-behandling-med-morten-ramm
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
misjonen-med-antonsen-og-golden
folk-flest-med-linn-og-nils
wolfgang-wee-uncut
hanna-de-heldige
jan-thomas-og-einar-blir-venner
verdens-verste
rss-det-alle-snakker-om-med-siri-og-kim
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
gutta-backer
rss-snorre-med-gaute