Unequal Defense, a story about public defenders in the state of Washington. It is quite horrific. To be fair, I've got to say that the public defenders I've worked with in Iowa (Marshall County, Linn, Allamakee) had some of the highest quality criminal defense attorneys around. They knew when to push the case to the limits, and when to beg for a deal because they had no case. They often gave cases more time and attention than their paycheck reflected - particularly when they weren't acting as salaried public defenders, but working off the hourly stipend. The one thing that did bug me: defendants need to be clearly told that they will have to pay back the money for the "free" public defender if they are found guilty. Many don't grasp that concept. Saw the Washington link on How Appealing.