People who can't afford legal representation deserve high quality representation from passionate, committed lawyers, and all of this could disappear in the city of Aurora, Colorado. That's because, right now,
the city is considering taking a cheaper option - by eliminating its Public Defender's Office and outsourcing the work to private, for-profit attorneys. Needless to say, local public defenders and many constituents are terrified.
We must not let this plan come to fruition! Sign now to tell Aurora City Council: keep public defense public!Aurora City Council recently approved a plan to investigate how much money the city would save if they privatized the public defender's office. But public defense is a
public good, and for good reason.
This could set a dangerous and scary precedent for the rest of the country. Outsourcing public defense could put many of the poorest and most vulnerable people at risk for subpar representation. And based on several city council members' comments,
addressing this concern isn't a priority: they are only worried about saving money.
As one former public defender named Michael Carter explained: "While the public defender's job is first and foremost to follow the law, we also become social workers. We become guidance counselors. We become all sorts of things."
Public defenders are the lifeblood of our criminal justice system, and privatizing them would be a travesty. We must oppose this plan! If you agree, sign the petition now!