In an editorial, the Idaho Statesman says Idaho has no excuse for its inadequate public defender system. After all, the editorial states, Idaho doesn't have an excuse for dragging its heels on fixing the system. Such defense is mandated by the U.S. Constitution:

You won’t find anybody who is against reforms to Idaho’s inadequate public defender system. Gov. Butch Otter even acknowledged it in his State of the State message in January, saying the system does not pass constitutional muster. Members of the Idaho Legislature have been working on solving a list of deficiencies for going on five years now. Should anybody’s right to competent counsel be dependent upon whether you live in a big, small, rich, poor, fully staffed or understaffed/overworked county jurisdiction? It is time to demand answers of our lawmakers to questions such as: “What is taking so long?” “How did we get to a place where there is, at times, an uneven distribution of justice when it comes to Idaho’s mandate to provide legal counsel to all — especially to indigent defendants facing criminal charges?” More here.

Thoughts?

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