On July 9, 2009, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder spoke at
the Vera Institute of Justice’s Third Annual Justice Address. His comments focused on a review of sentencing guidelines, mandatory sentencing, racial and ethnic disparities in sentencing plus resources for public defender programs. The Department will also consider alternatives to incarceration and new legislation that will reform the structure of federal sentencing.
The Administration is concerned with indigent defense, which attorney General Holder describes as being in a state of crisis. Holder made the following statement:
“Resources for public defender programs lag far behind other justice system programs, constituting only about 3 percent of all criminal justice expenditures in our nation’s largest counties. We know that defenders in many jurisdictions carry huge caseloads that make it difficult for them to fulfill their legal and ethical responsibilities to their clients.”
Desiree Washington of Popdecay reports that the Department will also look at the usage of forensic DNA evidence and its increasing role of importance in criminal prosecution.
“Our goal is to ensure that forensic science is practiced at the highest level possible, and always in the pursuit of truth,” Holder stated.
He also indicated support for defendants having access to DNA evidence, and he hopes that states will follow Federal law allowing access. DNA has an unparalleled ability to exonerate the wrongfully convicted as well as identify the guilty.
The Innocence Project tally of Exonerations of wrongfully accused citizens now stands at 240. Mr. Holder’s initiatives seem to be tempered by two recent Supreme Court decisions regarding DNA evidence and the extensive National Academy of Science report, released in February 2009, critical of many forensic science disciplines and structure.
