Still reaping the whirlwind in Baton Rouge

January 31, 2008

Can you imagine being held more than a month in jail and not even knowing what your charges are?

In Baltimore, detainees are brought before a court commissioner for a bail hearing within 24 hours of the arrest. But earlier this month in Baton Rouge, a handful of University of Maryland School of Law students spent their winter break working for the public defender’s office, preparing and interviewing detainees who had spent more than a month in jail without being charged.

The students were there as part of the school’s third annual law trip to volunteer in the Gulf Coast area affected by Hurricane Katrina and were the first student group to volunteer at the Baton Rouge jails.

Under Louisiana law, arrestees must be charged within 45 days for a misdemeanor and 60 days for a felony. They are not assigned a public defender until they are officially charged, according to third-year student Anne Deady.

“Another thing is that the Baton Rouge population doubled after Katrina,” said Deady, who helped organize the trip. “The government there was really worried there was going to be more crime so they beefed up the police force but not the PD’s office. So you had more people being arrested than before with fewer people to handle it.”

The public defender’s office is so strapped for resources that one PD currently has 850 cases — more than 10 times the American Bar Association’s recommended caseload, Deady said.

While Deady said the law students’ presence was “so welcomed” in Baton Rouge, there is only so much they can do. Is there anyone out there helping to lighten the load? If you’ve been down to the Gulf Coast to lend a helping hand — whether it’s in the legal system or the rebuilding effort — we’d love to hear about your experience.

LIZ FARMER, Legal Affairs Writer

Sphere: Related Content

Posted by Jackie Sauter | Filed Under law, university of maryland 

Comments

Got something to say?





  • Law

  • Business

  • Archives

  • Visit Eye on Annapolis

    Check out our blog on the legislative session, Eye on Annapolis.

  • Categories

Business

The business staff of The Daily Record newspaper will contribute to this section. We'll write about topics ranging from the workplace to energy to the environment, but we'll strive to keep it as local as possible.

RSS Business posts

Law

The Daily Record’s been Maryland’s legal newspaper for 120 years or so. Now, we want to be Maryland’s legal blog, too. Click here to join the discussion and read posts by our legal team, including our Monday law blog round-up.

RSS Law posts

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

  • Graham: It’s the safe bet, but not a bad one. Of the other designs, two of them faced Charles Street with a...
  • Bond: Great looking forward thinking building! Finally something in that neighborhood that will overshadow the...
  • Sam: Trademark infringement?
  • Sam: Agree with Bobby, but not a shock…it is UB.
  • bobby: I think it’s the absolute WORST out of the 4 designs. I’m hoping it doesn’t go up.

On Commenting

We ask that our readers follow a few guidelines, noted below.

Please do not post any personal attacks, profanity, spam or other advertisements — they will be removed. Also, please post using only one name or pseudonym, as this consistency helps establish a sense of community. We will delete posts if they are signed with different names but originate from the same IP or email address. And if you’re going to comment using a proper name, please make it your own. Deliberate misrepresentations will be removed.