Civil Rights
When asked who loses when society doesn’t have enough public defenders, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici replied, “We all do. It’s not fair to the defendant who’s accused of a crime and has a constitutional right to a lawyer. It’s not fair to the victims of the crime. It’s not fair to the judicial system and it’s not fair to the public in general.”
U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici has introduced legislation aimed at tackling sprawling public defender shortages in Oregon and nationwide. The bill, titled the Ensuring Quality Access To Legal Defense Act or "EQUAL" Defense Act for short, would spread $250 million in federal grant money across the country.
WASHINGTON, DC [11/17/22] – Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici introduced legislation to support public defenders and address the public defense shortage.
Members of a U.S. House Education and Labor Committee panel on Thursday questioned experts and leaders of youth rehabilitation programs about how the federal government could invest in programs to prevent kids from becoming incarcerated.
"Although the juvenile justice system is intended to rehabilitate — not punish — young offenders, data shows that the more a young person interacts with the juvenile justice system, the more likely they are to reenter the system and struggle throughout life," the panel's chair, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, said in her opening statement.