A lawsuit was filed against the state of Utah and Washington County for violating the Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution, which states that criminal defendants have the right to an attorney whether they can afford the service or not.
Fox 13 Now reported that the lawsuit was filed by William Cox and Edward Paulus, who both are facing criminal charges. Cox is charged of being an unlicensed broker, while Paulus is charged with aggravated sex abuse. Both of these men were convicted in their cases. They accuse the Washington County of not providing adequate attorneys for those who can't afford one.
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, there is a proposal to make the case of Cox and Paulus a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the many criminal defendants who can't afford their own attorney and are only represented by public defendant. The lawsuit that was filed Friday at a US District Court claims that the Utah and Washington County has a broken defender system. The attorneys are overworked and underpaid. They also lack the training and support needed to win their cases.
"(Washington County) enter(s) into fixed-price contracts with local attorneys to provide indigent defense services to those charged with criminal wrongdoing in the district court," according to the lawsuit in a report by ST George News. "The contacts are structured and administered in a manner that impedes the ability of the attorneys to provide constitutionally adequate legal representation to their clients."
The suit was filed by Ogden-based lawyer Michael Studebaker. The lawsuit claims that Washington County officials failed to renew Paulus' public defender's contract. That contract is open and his case is scheduled to go on trial next month. Meanwhile, Cox's case states that Utah Attorney General's Office is prosecuting him, but he doesn't receive any fund for his public defense. The lawsuit also claims that Washington County public defenders aren't adequate and effective.
