Last in the Nation
Indefensible Indigent Defense in Pennsylvania
With miscarriages of justice grabbing the headlines, society is now more than ever recognizing the necessity of effective legal representation for the poor.
Since the the Supreme Court of the United States decided the case of Gideon v. Wainwright in 1963, 49 states have provided funding and resources to ensure that the poor have something resembling effective representation when they are charged with crimes. There is only one state that provides zero funding for indigent defense: Pennsylvania. Grassroots Gideon is an organization of individuals who are dedicated to ending Pennsylvania's status as last in the nation.
Please read over the information on this website and join our grassroots movement.
WHY DO WE NEEED TO ORGANIZE?
Grassroots action is needed
When corporations and trade organizations want to accomplish a policy goal, they hire lobbyists. Most trade organizations have extensive staffs with lobbyists who can advocate for policy changes. However, as Robert F. Kennedy observed, "The poor man charged with crime has no lobby."
Advocacy is not just for courtrooms
Every public defender knows that a good advocate can persuade twelve citizens. So why would should we believe that good advocacy cannot change the minds of a handful of legislators? The fact of the matter is that the persuasive power of good policy has worked in 49 states. There is nothing unique about Pennsylvania that would prevent it from working here.
How to help
We need you. Grassroots movements are not about campaign contributions or steak dinners, they're about people. Despite the dysfunction in Harrisburg, we can change minds. Red states and blue states alike have accomplished what we are setting out to accomplish, so there is absolutely no reason why our purple state cannot accomplish this in 2019.
WHO IS GIDEON?
"The immediate impetus for that step forward came from Clarence Gideon. His case shows that, in the United States, the least influential of men can persuade those in charge to re‐examine the premises of justice in society. That is no small thing when so many people feel defeated by the political system.
In a huge country with overwhelming problems it is easy for the individual to feel helpless in the mass, to doubt that the system can respond to his needs. But the courts still do listen to the individual: That is what Gideon showed us."
Obituary of Clarence Gideon,