The quality of legal representation provided to the poor.
Some commentators have raised questions about the quality of legal representation provided to the poor, they have also suggested that racial minorities, who are more likely than White-Americans to be poor, are particularly disadvantaged? Based on this statement, answer the following questions. Please use research to support your answers and be sure to cite your sources.
a. Is this statement necessarily the case?
b. Given the statistical breakdown of the population, are racial minorities more likely than White-Americans to be poor?
c. Are racial minorities who are represented by public defenders or assigned counsel treated more harshly than those represented by private attorneys?
d. If you were an African American, Hispanic or Native American defendant and could choose whether to be represented by a public defendant or private attorney, which would you choose and why?
Sample Solution
The quality of legal representation provided to the poor
Wealth – the measure of an individual`s or family`s financial net worth – provides all sorts of opportunities for American families. Wealth makes it easier for people to seamlessly transition between jobs, move to new neighborhoods, and respond in emergency situations. Unfortunately, wealth in the U.S is unequally distributed by race, and particularly between white and black households. African Americans families have a fraction of the wealth of white families, leaving them more economically insecure and with far fewer opportunities for economic mobility. There is now, and has always been, a double standard when it comes to the criminal justice system in the United States. The system is stacked against you if you are a person of color or are poor, and is doubly unjust if you are both a person of color and poor.
