As of today, New Yorkers will be ensured access to a right that all people in the U.S. are entitled to. Which right is that? We all have the “right to counsel,” which in part means that if you are charged with a serious crime but cannot afford an attorney, the government must provide you with a defense attorney free of charge.* The basic
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YOUR RIGHT OF THE DAY: If you are charged with a serious crime, and cannot afford an attorney, the government must provide you with a defense attorney free of charge. 1U.S. Constitution, 6th amendment; Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963); Argersinger v. Hamlin, 407 U.S. 25 (1972) More specifically, this means low-income people cannot be put in jail without being provided an attorney (usually a “public
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YOUR RIGHT OF THE DAY: After an arrest, if police don’t formally charge you with a crime within a short period of time, they must release you. 1U.S. Constitution, 6th Amendment [Update: Sentence was edited to clarify meaning] You might think there’s no way this kind of thing happens in our society, but in fact officials in the state of Mississippi
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