Criminal
Jun. 1, 2020
AG can choose to stop defending some death sentences during COVID-19
Using his significant -- and underutilized -- power to control post-conviction case resolution, the AG can serve the public interest by making wise use of limited resources.
Samuel Weiscovitz
Deputy State Public Defender
Office of the State Public Defender
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused California's largest budget deficit ever. State employees face a 10% pay cut, and agencies' budgets are being reduced across the board. The court system must figure out how to operate safely in a pandemic, while itself facing cuts. As one commentator posits, in this environment, the modern death penalty -- which has always been "the antithesis of efficient and effective use of government time and resources" -- may be "a kind of 'legal ...
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