There have been a flood of misdemeanor cases in American courts because of tough-on-crime legislation and tough policing, The Wall Street Journal's John R. Emshwiller and Gary Fields report. The result has been assembly lines in court. Just minutes are spent adjudicating the cases and defendants, who have a constitutional right to legal counsel, often are not provided lawyers. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a misdemeanor defendant facing a potential jail sentence has the right to a lawyer, WSJ reports, but "what that means for the nation’s crowded courts is a topic of debate among judges around the country." Jean Hoefer Toal, chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court, told the WSJ her state doesn't have the money to provide lawyers in every misdemeanor case as envisioned by the U.S. Supreme Court "and that chief justices from other states have told her the same."
Lawyer and Legal Journalist
