Editorial: Cutting corners on justice? Guilty - The Denver Post

Editorial: Cutting corners on justice? Guilty - The Denver Post

For years, Colorado has denied court-appointed counsel to poor defendants charged with minor crimes until the accused have heard prosecutors make a pitch for a plea deal.

The practice violates a defendant's Sixth Amendment constitutional right to representation, and it must change.

The hitch, in a state as cash- strapped as Colorado, is the price tag. Hiring enough staff to afford defendants their constitutional rights will cost an estimated $5 million to $6 million annually.

However, cost cannot be an excuse in failing to abide by the U.S. Constitution.

The issue made its way into the spotlight when two non-profits earlier this month filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to overturn the Colorado law.

In the lawsuit, the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar and the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition cite a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision saying defendants have a right to counsel during any "critical stage" of proceedings against them.

Another decision, rendered by the court in 2010, held "that the negotiation of a plea bargain is a critical phase of litigation for purposes of the Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel."

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