ODonnell v. Harris County, Tex.

Brief of Amicus Curiae National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellees and Affirmation.

Brief filed: 08/09/2017

Documents

ODonnell v. Harris County, Tex.

5th Circuit Court of Appeals; Case No. 17-20333

Prior Decision

On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, No. 4:16-cv-01414.

Argument(s)

Detention negatively impacts the attorney-client relationship and results in less effective representation of indigent defendants. Harris County pressures indigent detainees to plead guilty rather than raise a defense. Indigent defendants suffer lasting effects from the poverty-imposed, disadvantaged path through the Harris County system.

Author(s)

Katherine R. Goldstein, Michael E. Kaufmann, and Joseph J. Kammerman, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, New York, NY; Michelle Tuegel, Hunt & Tuegel, PLLC, Waco, TX; Nicole DeBorde, Bires Schaffer & DeBorde, Houston, TX.