A class-action lawsuit was recently filed in Wisconsin arguing that the state’s shortage of public defenders is creating a constitutional crisis, with low-income defendants experiencing extreme delays in accessing legal representation.

Today, host Carousel Bayrd is joined by Henry (Hank) R. Schultz and John A. Birdsall to learn more about the lawsuit.

They discuss the constitutional right to counsel, how that’s being threatened by the court system’s extreme backlog of pending criminal cases across the state, and the circumstances contributing to the public defender shortage.

Henry (Hank) R. Schultz and John A. Birdsall are lawyers representing the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in the lawsuit filed on August 23, 2022.

Cover photo by David Mark from Pixabay

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