An Evaluation of the Criminal Court System

Amanda Ward

Objective/Essential Question

For my senior project, I will be interning with Virginia Murphrey, Chief Public Defender, Tenth
Judicial District, and Jim Fleming, Chief Public Defender, Second Judicial District. The overall
objective of this senior project is to examine the criminal court system in Minnesota and
answer these key questions: How does the inadequacy of public defense funding affect the
indigent accused and the prison system? How and why does this disproportionally affect
individuals of color? I am also presently undecided on what I want to do in the future, so I
believe examining this profession may give me insight into a potential career.

Motivation

This senior program is all about examining the criminal court system of Minnesota, specifically
the role of a public defender within the process. The criminal court system is so important in
that it provides numerous of the fundamental rights granted to United States citizens by the
Constitution, the 5th and 6th amendments most specifically delve into these. With this high
importance, I believe spending time learning about and physically evaluating this system will
be very worthwhile of my time. I was also motivated to do this for my senior project after the
murder of George Floyd in our community. His horrific death and the subsequent court
proceedings not only impacted his friends, family, and the Minneapolis area, but the entire
world. I would like to know more about a process that can have such a profound effect. I have a
basic understanding of public defense given that my dad is the State Public Defender. The two
chiefs I will be working with on this project are connections my dad provided me with.
However, this is absolutely a baseline understanding. I really would like to know more about
what goes into a court case. My dad’s job works primarily with the public defense budget for
Minnesota to which he has adamantly professed is limited. With this project, I want to know
more about what impact this low funding has on the criminal court system and if this greatly
impacts the clients chances of a lesser or no jail time. Furthermore, I would like to learn more
about the disproportionate incarceration rate of people of color. My motivation for this stems
from my previous social studies class, Social Psychology with Dion. During this class, I was
assigned a project looking at psychological phenomena in the criminal court system. This
project was incredibly eye opening and really expressed to me that there are underlying issues
in the system that perpetuate the mass incarceration of people of color. In my second semester
of senior year, I will also be taking Constitutional Law where I will be learning more about the

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public defense system. This class will further my knowledge in the area and prepare me for the
internship.

Literature Review

In 1963, Gideon versus Wainwright declared that any defendant who cannot afford an
attorney is entitled to have one appointed to protect the right to counsel as provided in the 6th
Amendment of the Constitution (Bozelko, 2015). A public defender represents people who are
facing criminal charges and unable to afford a private attorney. A public defender is paid by the
government rather than by private clients and is court-appointed. There are two types of
representations that a client would receive: vertical representation, the same lawyer throughout
the case, and horizontal representation, each phase of a case is assigned to a different lawyer. In
Minnesota, vertical representation is used (Justia, 2020).
When someone commits a crime and cannot afford a private attorney, they are assigned a
public defender who will see them through the strenuous criminal court process as followed
(somes cases go farther than others): first appearance, bail, filing, arraignment, motions, court
appearances, pleas, trial, and sentencing. The first appearance is when someone arrested goes in
front of a judge who will read them the charges for which they were charged. The judge at that
time decided whether or not there are sufficient legal reasons to arrest the person. The judge then
appoints a public defence office to the case if there was sufficient legal evidence and the client
cannot afford a private attorney. Bail is intended to guarantee that the client will appear for
scheduled court appearance. During this time, the judge can temporarily release the accused
person awaiting trial, sometimes with a certain sum of money. After the first appearance, if
formal charges are filed, an arraignment (a call before the court) will be scheduled. This is not a
trial when evidence and witnesses can be presented, rather a client is informed of the charges
against them. After investigating the case, an attorney may file motions and ask for a court
hearing. Since the law resumes a client is innocent until proven guilty, they can plead not guilty,
guily, or Nolo Contendere (accepts conviction but does not plead guilty. A case will go to trial if
the plea deal is not taken. This is when eye witnesses are called and evidence is presented from
both sides. Sentencing is the final step in this court system (Florida Public Defense, 2020).
According to the Public News Service, “Rights are being violated when staffing is at a
low level.” Public defenders in Minnesota are chronically underfunded which leads to workload
issues. “The public defender’s office has 68% of the attorney staff and 57% of the support staff
that state and national standards say they should have. Guidelines from the American Bar
Association recommend that public defenders handle no more than 400 cases per year; however
in Minnesota, caseloads exceed 500 cases per year” (Gomez, 2019). Workloads are too high for
public defenders in Minnesota to adequately represent clients and prepare for their trials which
causes an excessive amount of plea deals to be taken- about 95% of criminal cases are plea-
bargained. Poor defendants in the United States have the right to a competent lawyer, and
hundreds of thousands of defendants rest their hopes on overworked public defenders. A

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profound example of this comes from Jack Talaska, a lawyer from Louisiana. In April, 2017, he
had 194 cases. High-level felonies carry sentences of 10 years or more and should each get 70
hours of legal attention, according to a workload study. Whereas mid-level felonies require 41
hours each and life without parole requires 201 hours apiece. As this workload study suggests,
Talaska would have needed almost 10,000 hours, or five work-years, to handle the 194 active
felony cases he had (Oppel, 2019). While Minnesota’s public defense system is better resources
than Louisiana, as the American Bar Association expresses, “Everywhere public defenders are
having to carry outlandish, excessive workloads that make a mockery of the constitutional right
to counsel.” Public defenders say the system is unfair particularly to poor people who can't
afford bail or lawyers to immediately address their cases. The lack of resources means they don't
have the time to build proper defenses and are forced to leave charged people in jail for long
periods of time until they can address a particular case. Most clients end up making plea deals
just to get out of jail, not knowing that a conviction could follow them for the rest of their lives
(McCausland, 2017).
Racial inequality is distinctly present in the Minnesota prison systems. According to a
2014 census as expressed by the StarTribune, only about 6% of Minnesotans are black and yet
37% percent of the state’s prison population is black (Mannix, 2016). Furthermore, “American
Indians’ make up about 1% of the Minnesota population and are more than 9% of prisoners. As
of January 1, 2016, blacks and American Indians collectively made up nearly half of Minnesota's
prison population -- despite comprising only 7 percent of the state's population as a whole.
People of color in Minnesota are overrepresented in prisons and jails while white Minnesotans
are underrepresented (Prison Policy Initiative, 2020).

Outcomes

By the end of my two-week immersive experience at two different public defense offices, I hope
to be able to answer my two initial questions: “How does the inadequacy of public defense
funding affect the indigent accused and the prison system? How and why does this
disproportionally affect individuals of color?”. I also hope that I have an overall understanding
of what a public defender does and how the criminal court system works in the state of
Minnesota. This system is fundamental to my rights as a United States citizen, so it is
incredibly important to know how it works in case myself or someone I know enters it. I also
think my dad would feel much better if I actually knew what he did for a living. Furthermore, I
want to be able to state a few distinct differences I noticed between the two districts I will be
interning at.

Resources

There are a few important resources that I have already identified for this senior program. I
already have contacts who are willing to let me intern with them in their public defender

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offices: with Virginia Murphrey, Chief Public Defender, Tenth Judicial District, and Jim
Fleming, Chief Public Defender, Second Judicial District. They will act as my mentors and help
me answer my questions surrounding the criminal court system. In preparation they are also
giving me access to a database withholding national publications of public defence, so I can
read articles as a preface to the program such as public defence delivery systems in the us. I
also asked Mr. Cady to mentor me on this senior project. I have Constitutional Law with him
next semester, and so I believe he would be a great resource for me to go to with questions and
support this project along with Virginia Murphrey and Jim Fleming.

Timeline

District/Person Todo

One day with: Assigned to a lawyer within the office to

observe them and help them during their
Virginia Murphrey, Chief Public Defender, court procedures. With them, I will:
Tenth Judicial District

Be present with them during the initial

hearing for their client

Take notes during the interview

Understand procedural due process

Learn and understand court rules and

procedures

Record what happened during the day in a

continuous Google Document

One day with: Assigned to a dispositional advisor. With

them, I will:
Jim Fleming, Chief Public Defender, Second
Judicial District
Research and vet potential mitigation on
behalf of a client

Look at needs and treatments for sentencing

alternatives to prison

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 Record what happened during the day in a
continuous Google Document

For this senior project I will be interning with both Chief Public Defender Virginia Murphrey in
the Tenth Judicial District and Chief Public Defender Jim Fleming in the Second Judicial
District. I am going to be spending one week with Jim and one week with Ginger within their
respective offices in order to evaluate the differences between the districts. Within each office, I
will be working approximately forty hours (eight hours a day for five days). In these offices, I
will be observing the entirety of the criminal court system in order to learn more about it and
try to evaluate my essential questions. By entirety, I mean from bail through disposition.
During this process, I will be tagging along with my Ginger and Jim while meeting with clients
to listen and observe their interviews regarding bail. I am going to be collecting data on the
percentage of individuals of color on the bail calendar by means of answering my question
regarding the mass incarceration of people of color. I am also going to collect data on the
percentage of those who are released on their own recognizance and those who are required to
post bail and on those who are detained and their race/ethnicity by reviewing their discovery
with the attorneys and discussing pretextual stops by the police. Furthermore, I am going to be
collecting data on pretextual stops and the race/ethnicity of the accused and how much time is
spent on cases: caseload/workload issues. I will also be spending time interviewing people who
are working in the offices to learn more about their job and views on the criminal justice
system. Jim Fleming expressed over our Zoom meeting that I will, specifically in his office, be
learning the procedural aspects of the criminal court process which would include
understanding how a case starts from investigation through initial appearance, omnibus
hearing, and trial. I would also be learning about the sentencing in the adult system and effect
of departures that keep adult offenders out of prison and about over policing of people of color
and the effects of that over policing has on those communities (most specifically about
pretextual stops by police, the constitutional ramifications and the disport case outcomes for
people of color). Finally, I would be learning about the justice system initiatives in adult
systems and juvenile restorative circles.

Here is a weekly outline:

Observing the criminal court system from 1st appearance (bail) through disposition
(plea/trial/sentencing)

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Meet with clients at the first appearance and observe/listen to client interviews regarding bail

Collect data on percentage of individuals of color on the bail calendar

Collect data on percentage of those who are released on their own recognizance and those who
are required to post bail

Collect data on those who are detained and their race/ethnicity

Review discovery with the attorneys and discuss pretextual stops by the police

Collect data on pretextual stops and the race/ethnicity of the accused

Collect data on how much time is spent on cases: caseload/workload issues

Interview Ginger Murphrey and other workers in his office about their jobs

At the home:

Record what happened during the day in a continuous Google Document

Documentation

In order to document the process of my senior project, I will be writing in a continuous Google
Document every night after getting from my internship. In this documentation, I will be
discussing what occurred during the day, who I talked to, and what I learned from the
experience. I am also going to be conducting interviews during this process with Jim and
Ginger, people within their office, and clients. Therefore, I will also be recording those
interviews and transcribing those recordings into another Google Document to look back on
during my presentation from Sharing Day.

Risks

There are multiple risks associated with my senior project proposal. Of course, the coronavirus
is an omnipresent threat I have to take into consideration while making plans for my senior
program. While I will still be able to do the internship, it will be completely on Zoom depending
on the virus situation, and I will not be able to physically sit in on the court processes nor
interview clients. Another risk stems from the close-client relations. I will be interviewing and
interacting with people who are accused of crimes and may be mentally ill or angry. That is a

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physical safety risk that I can minimize by following proper protocols during these interactions
and always attending client discussions with another person. I assume that I will need to go
through some sort of training to do this as well.

As an alternative non-Covid plan for my senior project, I would love to examine the Islamic
influence in Spanish architecture. When I was in seventh grade, my family hosted a foriegn
exchange student from Zaragoza, Spain. We absolutely loved getting to know each other and
became very close to her family. In 2016, we visited her home of Zaragoza. Their city is famous
for their architecture which holds a vast cultural heritage with its Spanish and Islamic roots. I
would love to examine how the architecture holds the past history of Spain. They have offered
multiple times for me to stay with them as a foreign exchange student, so I believe this will be a
great opportunity for a cultural and language immersion. For this alternative senior project, I
would be looking to answer these essential questions: “How can the Islamic culture be seen in
Spanish architecture? What do the architectural motifs express about the Islamic culture and
the time period?”. As Zaragoza is known for its Islamic influence, I would take guided tours of
some of these famous architectural buildings to learn more about this history and art. These
buildings include the Aljafería Palace, Zaragoza Museum, and Plaza of Our Lady Pillar. I would
also take some to research the Islamic heritage and what happened in history to make modern
day Spain. I am motivated to do this project because I would love to practice by Spanish and
take the opportunity to be foreign exchange student with a family and know well and miss.
Furthemore, I am motivated to do this project because during my visit there, I was really
fascinated and flabbergasted that there was so much Islamic influence in Spain, specifically as
seen in the architecture. I would really like to know more about how this influence came to be
and how the culture is shown. As for resources, I thankfully already have a family willing to
take care of me and help see through my plan in Spain. The budget would be significantly more
than my public defense senior project considering I would need to purchase plane and train
tickets to get to Zaragoza. Fortunately, all other necessary expenses would be mitigated
considering I have a free place to stay. I would also need to purchase tickets to have guided
tours of the buildings I am interested in. As for timing, I should certainly be able to accomplish
my goals and answer my essential questions in the two weeks allotted.

Presentation Plan

For my Senior Program Sharing Day, I would like to partake in a Virtual Panel Discussion. I
would like to create a powerpoint presentation regarding everything I learned during my time
interning in the two judicial districts with the chief public defenders. I believe that is best
suited for my demonstration purposes as it clearly lays out information onto the table. I would
also love to answer questions which is another reason I would like this type of presentation. I
will also be presenting with Grace Griffin. She is doing her senior project on how Covid-19 has

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affected the justice system. Through this, we can work off of each other during our
presentation. Grace’s project will serve as the background and academic side whereas mine
yours would illustrate the hands on experience.

References

Bozelko, C. (2015, November 9). When States Charge for Public Defenders, Poor Defendants are
Doomed. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/09/ when-
states-charge-for-public-defenders-poor-defendants-are-doomed#:~:text=Public
%20defenders%20are%20supposed%20to,the%20cost%20of%20their%20counsel.

Gomez, F. N. (2019, February 11). Do Overworked and Underpaid MN Public Defenders Put
Justice at Risk? Public News Service. Retrieved November 4, 2020, from
https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2019-02-11/civil-rights/do-overworked-and-underpaid-
mn-public-defenders-put-justice-at-risk/a65471-1#:~:text=The%20public%20defender's
%20office%20has,exceed%20500%20cases%20per%20year.

Mannix, A. (2016, April 14). Minnesota Sends Minorities to Prison at Far Higher Rates Than
Whites. StarTribune. https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-sends-minorities-to-prison-at-
far-higher-rates-than-whites/374543811/

McCausland, P. (2017, December 11). Public Defenders Nationwide Say They're Overworked
and Underfunded. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/public-defenders-
nationwide-say-they-re-overworked-underfunded-n828111

Minnesota Profile. (n.d.). Prison Policy Initiative. Retrieved November 4, 2020, from
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/MN.html

Oppel, R. A., Jr. (2019, January 31). One Lawyer, 194 Felony Cases, and No Time. The New York
Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/01/31/us/public-defender-case-loads.html

Public Defenders. (2019, May). Justia. Retrieved November 4, 2020, from

https://www.justia.com/criminal/working-with-a-criminal-lawyer/public-defenders/

What To Expect. (n.d.). Florida Public Defender. Retrieved November 4, 2020, from
https://pd10.org/what-to-expect/

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