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A federal judge has ordered Oregon counties to release criminal defendants from jail if they aren’t appointed an attorney within a week of their first court appearance. In his Thursday ruling, U.S. District Judge Michael McShane says indigent defendants are essentially being locked up and deprived of a voice simply because they are too poor to hire their own lawyer. Oregon is one of many states that have struggled to ensure their public defense systems meet the requirements of the Sixth Amendment. Lawmakers passed a criminal defense reform bill earlier this year, but the judge said fixing th...

A federal judge has ordered Oregon counties to release criminal defendants from jail if they aren’t appointed an attorney within a week of their first court appearances.

A federal judge said indigent defendants are essentially being locked up and deprived of a voice because they are too poor to hire their own lawyer.

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A federal judge has ordered Oregon counties to release criminal defendants from jail if they aren’t appointed an attorney within a week of their first court appearance. The state is one of many that have struggled to ensure their public defense systems meet the requirements of the U.S. Constitution's Sixth Amendment, and Oregon has faced multiple lawsuits over the issue in recent years. Ruling Thursday in a case filed this year by the Federal Public Defender's Office, U.S. District Judge Michael McShane said indigent defendants are essentially being locked up and deprived of...