NACDL Selected to Receive Significant Grant from Koch Industries, Inc. to Address Nation's Profound Indigent Defense Crisis

http://www.nacdl.org/NewsReleases.aspx?id=34848

Washington, DC (Oct. 21, 2014) – The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), the nation's preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing, has been selected by Koch Industries, Inc. to receive a major grant in support of NACDL's efforts to address the nation's profound indigent defense crisis.There are two components to this generous and critical initiative:

Significant expansion of access to training through an ambitious combination of scholarship support for indigent defenders, web-based training via the Internet, and targeted on-site training for indigent defense providers who lack adequate resources to provide comprehensive continuing education for line attorneys and supervisors.

Examination of state level indigent defense delivery systems in order to ascertain strengths that can be replicated elsewhere as well as weaknesses and the ways in which those can be rectified.

Both components will seek to achieve the goals set forth in the American Bar Association's Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System, which are widely recognized as providing a comprehensive framework for the effective delivery of legal services for the indigent accused.

The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that those accused of a crime have the fundamental right to an attorney, regardless of one's ability to pay. Indeed, some 80-plus percent of those accused of crime in America rely upon indigent defense systems to provide representation. Those systems are chronically underfunded and overburdened and, as a result, in many instances are unable to effectively deliver adequate representation. Koch has selected NACDL as the recipient of this funding in order to advance the Association's core mission of improving and ensuring the quality of indigent defense in America.NACDL President Theodore Simon said: "This funding will significantly enhance NACDL's ever-vigilant, ongoing efforts and capacity to elevate the caliber of representation available to those who cannot afford to hire a lawyer when they face criminal charges. No one – regardless of financial means – who faces a criminal prosecution, should be deprived of the guiding hand of experienced counsel.

This grant from Koch brings us closer to the day when that goal will be a reality. It is an important step to fulfill the promise of Gideon, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the Sixth Amendment right to counsel for the indigent.” NACDL Executive Director Norman L. Reimer said: "This is about a fundamental right set forth in the Constitution – the right to counsel – and the very sorry state of support for indigent defense this country. NACDL is delighted that there is such a convergence of interest and concern between NACDL's mission and that of Koch with respect to the critical importance of indigent defense and the Sixth Amendment right to counsel. And we are honored that while Koch is providing this significant funding to support NACDL's efforts, Koch is deferring to NACDL's expertise in this arena for the grant's effective deployment. We hope that the support Koch is providing to NACDL to expand efforts to address America's profound indigent defense crisis serves as a model and inspiration to others who are similarly situated to step up and join NACDL as we work to ensure the survival of the fundamental right to counsel.

"Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Koch Industries, Inc., Charles G. Koch said: "I am proud that Koch Industries is a part of this worthy project. All of my life, I have supported and championed the Bill of Rights, which is the bedrock upon which our free society was built. We are supportive of the NACDL's efforts to make the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of an individual's right to counsel a reality for all Americans, especially those who are the most disadvantaged in our society."According to Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Koch Industries, Inc., Mark V. Holden, "We unconditionally support the Bill of Rights, which is the blueprint for our free society, and the rule of law. As a result, we support NACDL and criminal defense lawyers because the Sixth Amendment specifically identifies criminal defense lawyers as a right and necessity for individuals accused of crimes. With this initiative, we hope to strengthen the Sixth Amendment and protect the freedom and rights of all Americans, including those who are most negatively impacted by lack of access to a competent defense lawyer."

Koch Industries has been involved with and supportive of NACDL's efforts for more than a decade. In 2011, Holden received the Association's Defender of Justice Leadership Award on behalf of Koch Industries in recognition of his and the company's ongoing support of NACDL's mission.
 

Last edited by Common Sense (5/14/2015 9:37 am)

Yup they are true "Devils" ?? 

Per Lawrence Goldman past president of NACDL:

fleetingly whether the group should take a major grant from Koch Industries. “I’m alive, so I know who the Koch brothers are. I do not agree with them politically,” Goldman said. “The question went through my mind, but I dismissed it pretty quickly.”

In the end, said Lefcourt and Goldman, what matters is NACDL’s ability and freedom to execute its agenda, whether funding comes from George Soros or Charles and David Koch. "We will take money pretty much from whoever offers it,” Goldman said. “I have lost no sleep over this.”




Also, curiously, the amount of the grant to this organization was not identified. Also, the individual charitable donations to the other groups are minuscule when compared to Dave & Chuck's check writing to republican candidates. Plus they receive a tax deduction for their charitable contributions and their political contributions are protected by the supreme court's bogus Citizens United decision. Chuck & Dave have an ulterior motive for all financial decisions they make, and that motive is to personally enrich Chuck & Dave.

Please allow me to introduce myself, I am a man of wealth and taste.
I've been around here for a long, long year, stole many a man's soul and fate.
Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name, oh yeah.
But what's puzzling you is the nature of my game.
The Rolling Stones, Sympathy For The Devil

Last edited by Rongone (5/14/2015 10:37 am)

So the Koch's donated 200 million for charitible causes.  Great.  They are spending about 900 million on upcoming elections.  I wonder why?

Common, I really need you to study history and understand what's going on here as this formula has been repeated over and over and over again throughout history.  In a nutshell, they (the members of the 'family') do philanthropic things to gain the confidence and support of the masses.  That's step one.

Step two, they go as far as they can spreading their influence throughout the marketplace.

Step three, since the regulator of the marketplace is the government, they buy the government to pass laws and ease regulations that impact their desire to continue to build their empire.

And so it goes, and so it has gone on for centuries.  The real professionals were the Medici in Italy.  They ran the place for two hundred years and never held a political office.

I'm probably telling you something you already knew if you had a decent history teacher or professor.  I'm just asking that you look at what the Koch's are doing objectively.  Forget political tribalism and/or loyalty for a moment and look at what's going on with an open, critical, objective mindset.

 

Last edited by Just Fred (5/14/2015 5:16 pm)

What about the devils Gates, Buffett, and Soros who use their evil philantrophy to bedevil the markets and bamboozle the public ? 

I would have to know what they inject into the political process buying politicians to help them control the marketplace. 

There are only two things that can put the brakes on turning this country into a plutocratic oligarchy .............. unions and government.  Corporatists have done a pretty good job demonizing unionization in the private sector.  Unionization in the public sector is the next target and that is part of the reason why controlling government is important.  I'm not sure how Gates, Buffet and Soros feel about unions and the ability of the worker to engage in collective bargaining.