Julian Ortiz, who last year faced a potential life sentence in federal prison for allegedly selling methamphetamine, has had his charge dismissed and is no longer in federal custody (article available here).
His case is one of at least eight in Sacramento’s federal district court that were delayed or dismissed after judges found that a six-month lapse in payments to court-appointed defense attorneys, partly caused by the government shutdown, violated defendants’ constitutional right to effective legal representation.
In Sacramento, where federal courts are among the busiest in the nation, the impact was immediate and stark. Attorneys who relied on these appointments for most or all of their business found themselves unable to make mortgage payments or fund their kids’ college tuition. But perhaps more significant was the effect on the clients that these attorneys had been appointed to represent.
In dismissing Mr. Ortiz’s case, the U.S. District Court wrote, “The right to effective assistance of counsel is a bedrock principle of this country, and is indisputably necessary for the operation of a fair criminal justice system.”
“The defendant shall be released from custody forthwith.”
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