When Lawyers Fail Innocent Defendants: Exorcising the Ghosts that Haunt the Criminal Justice Systems

It seems likely that a criminal law specialist system would offer adequate defense at a lower cost than refashioning and putting more money into today’s dysfunctional system. I believe that a combined system would make more efficient use of lawyer time, in part because weak cases would be more likely to be dismissed and in part because leveling the burden between defense and prosecution should facilitate more efficient case disposition. Thus, with a modest increase in the amount currently spent on prosecution and defense, a jurisdiction could adopt a criminal law specialist system and offer better lawyering on both sides of the aisle. One of the benefits would be better protection of innocent defendants.

Worth trying?