In Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), the Supreme Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment requires states to provide a lawyer to people facing serious criminal charges who cannot pay. Public defender offices and court-appointed lawyers now handle most criminal cases in many places.
The promise is often broken in practice. Public defenders commonly carry caseloads far above professional standards, leaving minutes for cases that deserve hours. In some states, people have waited weeks or months in jail without any lawyer at all. Funding for prosecutors usually far exceeds funding for defense.
Because Black and Latino people are more likely to be poor and more likely to be arrested, they depend more on public defense. Underfunding means less investigation, fewer motions and more pressure to accept plea deals. Defense quality then shapes who goes to prison and for how long.