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Page 14
October 27, 2010
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Time to Get Out and Vote
Too much is at stake
M arc H. M orial
and the worst economic crisis in
On Tuesday, Nov.
our lifetimes, there are those who
2, the rallies, polls and
are demonizing the jobless and
pundits will be si
threatening to end their unem
lenced and the Ameri
ployment benefits.
can people will have
There is the threat o f the repeal
the last word in what
o f historic health care reform.
has developed as one
There are those determined to
o f the most important and conten extendjob-killing foreign tax credits
tious mid-term elections in recent and tax cuts for the wealthiest Ameri
m em ory.
cans while shifting more o f the tax
The stakes are high. In the midst burden to the middle class.
o f persistent high unemployment
There are calls for the abolish
by
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1001 2 W Fifth Avenue. Oto 1 1 0 0 , Portland. Oregon 9 7 2 0 4
Phono: 5 0 3 - 2 2 0 - 1 7 9 0
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'V W
ment o f the minimum wage, the De
p artm en t o f E d u catio n and a
wom an’s right to choose. Immi
grants, M uslim -A m ericans and
other minority comm unities are
wondering if they will still be wel-
American families. And with 37 gov change we voted for in 2008, or
ernorships up for grabs, issues that allowing a return to the policies that
are being hotly debated at the state got us into this mess in the first
level, including school reform, im place.
migration and health care spending
Our nation is facing tremendous
will be affected.
challenges both at home and abroad.
The overwhelming issue is jobs, but
this election is also about our
nation’s moral direction and whether
or not we will allow groups like the
Tea Party movement to take us back
to an era o f overt racial, ethnic, reli
gious and economic division.
The strength o f our democracy
has always been the fact that it is
— Walter H. Judd, former Minnesota congressman
We the People who get to peace
fully choose our leaders and shape
corned in the land o f equal opportu
So if you thought about sitting our destiny by the power o f the
nity on Nov. 3.
this one o u t- d o n ’t. Too much is at vote. As the Pulitzer Prize winning
And retired seniors, who just stake.
author, Alice Walker once said, “The
learned that they w on’t be getting a
No matter what you have heard most common way people give up
cost o f living increase next year, from the pundits and prognostica their power is by thinking they don't
would be put at further risk by those tors, no election is ever decided have any.”
advocating for the privatization o f until the people cast their votes.
So today and every day until
Social Security.
And if you are among the 16 percent Nov. 2, remember that the power for
A slight shift in the balance o f o f African Americans who are cur change is in your hands. Get out
power in both the House and the rently unemployed and discour and vote.
Senate could have a seismic impact aged, that is even more reason to
Marc H. Morial is the president
on the well-being o f millions o f make your voice heard. For you the and ch ief executive officer o f the
middle class and working class choice is between building on the National Urban League.
People often say that in a democracy
decisions are made by a majority o f the
people. O f course that is not true.
Decisions are made by a majority o f those
who make themselves heard and who vote...
Cease Public Defender Fees
Trend stacks up
against the poor
by
Even if y o u ’ve never
encountered the crim i
n al j u s t ic e s y s te m ,
you’re probably familiar
w ith the phrase “You
have the right to speak
to an attorney. If you
cannot afford an attor
ney, one w ill be a p
pointed to you.”
W hat you may not know is that,
in many states, defendants are
being charged for that court ap
pointed attorney. This increasing
trend is leading many poor defen
dants to waive their legal right to
representation and, instead, rep
resent them selves.
A report released by the New
York University School o f Law's
Brennan Center for Justice found
Dr. H. t . Hodge. Ph.D.
Licensed Christian Counselor
Counseling Cod's Way
Services Include:
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that 13 o f the 15 states with the
la r g e s t p ris o n p o p u la tio n s
charged some sort o f fee to defen
dants in need o f a lawyer.
T hese ch arg es in
clude application fees
and can add up to over
$ 1 ,0 0 0 . T he stu d y
found that in M ichigan,
m any individuals fac
in g
m is d e m e a n o r
charges decided 95 per
cent o f the time to waive
their right to an attor
ney because they co u ld n ’t afford
the fees.
It’s no surprise that this is com
mon practice in states with large
prison populations. W ith defen
dants rep resen tin g th em selv es
and going up against trained pros
ecutors, the chances o f a convic
tion are much higher. This could
lead to unlaw ful convictions and
overcrow ded prison populations.
In an ideal w orld, anyone ac
cused o f a crim e would have the
m eans to pay for an attorney. U n
fortunately, m ost o f those arrested
come from poor com m unities and
d o n ’t have the m oney - even
$ 1,000 - to pay for legal counsel.
Charging for that service, in ef
fect, denies them a basic right to
representation.
Most ofu s believe that, on many
levels, the crim inal ju stice system
is unfairly stacked against poor
individuals. This trend o f charg
ing defendants for legal services
does nothing to challenge those
beliefs.
States m ust discontinue this
practice and find another way to
generate revenue. By charging for
public defenders, the system is
building yet another pipeline that
directs individuals tow ard prison.
Greg M athis is a fo rm e r M ichi
gan D istrict Court ju d g e a n d cur
rent syndicated television show
ju d g e.
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