Many Texans are too poor to afford a lawyer, but not poor enough for courts to provide one
“You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford at attorney, one will be appointed to you.
That’s been a constitutional guarantee in the United States for nearly 60 years — and it’s echoed on primetime cop shows every night.
Yet a new report from the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center says that guarantee isn’t rock solid in Texas.
The report documents a massive range in how a criminal defendant’s ability to afford an attorney is determined from county to county. Courts may use outdated measures of poverty or make decisions based on an incomplete picture of an individual’s financial situation. And they may fail to account for the high cost of criminal defense attorneys.”