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Enterprise Watchdog

Mississippi courts won't say how they provide lawyers for poor clients

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Zeke Peña, special to ProPublica

This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with The Marshall Project.

In 2017, the Mississippi Supreme Court’s then-Chief Justice William Waller Jr. helped mandate that judges throughout the state explain in writing how they deliver on their duty to provide poor criminal defendants with a lawyer.

André de Gruy

André de Gruy, head of Mississippi’s Office of State Public Defender, says that unless judges file indigent defense plans with the state, it’s hard to know whether courts are meeting constitutional standards. (Imani Khayyam for ProPublica)

William L. Waller, Jr.

Former Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice William Waller Jr. said he’s partly responsible for not ensuring that courts around the state followed through on a requirement to develop public defense plans. (Bruce Newman for Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal)

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