Saturday marks the 60th anniversary of one the most important U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the 20th century. The High Court’s unanimous ruling in Gideon v. Wainwright established the right of the accused to an attorney and adequate defense, regardless of income.

The landmark 1963 ruling brought justice to millions of Americans, while leaving others behind, as state legislatures failed to adequately fund or oversee local public defense efforts. That’s especially true in Pennsylvania, one of only two states — South Dakota is the other — that provides no state funding or oversight for local public defenders or court-appointed attorneys.

Aside from Philadelphia’s robust system, Pennsylvania delivers a hodgepodge of fast, cheap and ineffective indigent legal services. Elsewhere in the state, vastly disparate spending results in justice by geography, where outgunned and underpaid public defenders, with more cases than they can competently handle, are forced to cut corners, including forgoing expert witnesses and investigators.

To his credit, Gov. Josh Shapiro included $10 million in his 2023-24 budget, effective July 1, to start fixing Pennsylvania’s shameful system. The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency will distribute this unprecedented investment locally, based on a formula that considers needs and available resources, the governor’s office said.

Altogether, Pennsylvania’s 67 counties spend more than $100 million on indigent defense, but Philadelphia accounts for 40% of that. Allegheny County spends roughly $9.2 million, close to the average per-capita expenditure. Statewide, an added $10 million is not enough to ensure adequate legal services for every defendant — but it’s a long-overdue start.

The governor’s office and PCCD ought to determine how much state funding Pennsylvania needs to adequately fund every county, and then earmark that amount in the 2024-25 budget. Meantime, the PCCD should develop uniform standards for indigent defense, including training, qualifications, data collection, caseloads, eligibility requirements and employee compensation. A statewide Office of Indigent Defense would help ensure sufficient and uniform funding and services throughout Pennsylvania.

Not doing so would be not only unjust, but also expensive, resulting in inflated sentences, court-ordered retrials, incarcerating the innocent and wrongful-conviction lawsuits. Over the last 30 years, more than 100 people have been exonerated in Pennsylvania. Since 1976, in capital cases alone, 10 prisoners have been exonerated and hundreds resentenced.

Sixty years ago, a Florida court convicted Clarence Earl Gideon, a drifter with an eight-grade education, of breaking-and-entering, and sentenced him to five years in prison. Mr. Gideon couldn’t afford an attorney, and the judge refused to appoint one. Mr. Gideon appealed the conviction, first, to the Florida Supreme Court and then, with a handwritten petition, to the U.S Supreme Court. The High Court reversed his conviction and established the right to legal counsel, regardless of income. Mr. Gideon was retried and acquitted.

By allocating state funding for indigent defense for the first time in Pennsylvania, Mr. Shapiro has taken a commendable step toward making the Gideon decision a reality in the commonwealth.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. March 14, 2023.