US Appeals Court: Defendants Without a Lawyer Should Be Released

A dissenting judge blasted the ruling in the Oregon case as ‘extreme’ and ’reckless,‘ saying the court would be ’complicit in a judicial jailbreak.’
US Appeals Court: Defendants Without a Lawyer Should Be Released
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals building in San Francisco on June 12, 2017. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Jack Phillips
Jack Phillips
Breaking News Reporter
|Updated:
0:00

A U.S. appeals court panel ruled 2-1 that defendants in Oregon must be released from jail after seven days if they do not have a defense attorney representing them.

In its decision on May 31, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals called Oregon’s public defense system a “Sixth Amendment nightmare,” referring to the amendment of the U.S. Constitution that guarantees people accused of crimes the right to a lawyer.
Jack Phillips
Jack Phillips
Breaking News Reporter
Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter who covers a range of topics, including politics, U.S., and health news. A father of two, Jack grew up in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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