UPDATE: On Friday March 23, 2018 the federal district court dismissed the Remick v. Utah lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Utah and the law firm of Holland & Hart in June 2016. The ACLU of Utah is disappointed by the court’s decision, given that the same systemic problems in indigent defense described in the lawsuit continue to play themselves out every day for low-income people charged with crimes in Utah.
The ACLU of Utah, together with co-counsel Holland & Hart, will continue efforts to ensure that everyone in Utah—no matter their income level—has access to effective legal counsel.
The lawsuit, filed in Utah’s Third Judicial District Court, names six individual plaintiffs, as well as multiple John Does, as representative of a class of individuals seeking declaratory relief. The named plaintiffs – who are facing charges in Tooele County, Carbon County and Cache County – were discovered through jail visits and courtroom observations throughout the state. They were selected as plaintiffs because of their experience with difficulties accessing counsel that is indicative of Utah’s indigent defense problems statewide.
The ACLU of Utah has been engaged in advocacy related to Utah’s failing indigent defense system since before 2011, when the organization released “Failing Gideon,” a report that illustrated the many ways in which Utah is failing to fulfill the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of access to legal counsel. A report released in 2015 by the Sixth Amendment Center, a non-partisan research organization, confirmed the dismal findings in “Failing Gideon.”
In 2015 the ACLU of Utah launched our “YES ON SIX” campaign to demand legislative action in 2016, with the goal of substantial state funding and oversight of county-led indigent defense systems.
News
- Press Release: ACLU of Utah Response to Recent Dismissal of Remick v. Utah Lawsuit Against the State’s Indigent Defense System (3/27/2018)
- Press Release: ACLU of Utah and Holland & Hart LLP Announce Lawsuit Against State of Utah Over Indigent Defense (6/21/16)
- Photos from the press conference announcing the lawsuit (6/21/16)
Reports
Related Press Releases
- ACLU of Utah Response to Recent Dismissal of Remick v. Utah Lawsuit Against the State’s Indigent Defense System (3/27/2018)
- ACLU of Utah Launches YES ON SIX Campaign, “Legislative and Policy Solutions Need to Happen NOW” (8/28/16)
- ACLU of Utah Responds Report Documenting Utah’s Unconstitutional Public Defense System (10/26/15)
- ACLU of Utah Calls for Action on Utah’s Failing Indigent Defense System (8/26/15)
- ACLU of Utah Issues Report Detailing Chronic Underfunding, Other Systemic Failures in Public Defender Services (8/24/11)
Blogs
- YES ON SIX Update: New Commission is Prosecutor Free! (6/15/16)
- YES ON SIX: David's Story (6/6/16)
- YES ON SIX: Harry's Story (5/2/16)
- YES ON SIX: Sue's Story (4/18/16)
- Utah Legislature Says: "Meh" On Six (3/21/16)
- Indigent Defense: The Bill Is Now Public...and It's Not Enough (2/12/16)
- YES ON SIX: It's not a "problem," it's a CRISIS (1/19/16)
- Utah Must Walk The Talk By Fully Funding Indigent Defense (10/13/15)
- YES ON SIX: Demand that the Sixth Amendment be realized in Utah! (8/27/15)
- The Bad News Behind Salt Lake Co's Work to Reduce Pay Gaps Between Prosecutors & Public Defenders (7/17/15)
- You may have the RIGHT to an attorney...but in Utah, does it matter? (6/9/15)
- Fair trial integral to American values (6/21/10)
