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Missouri Supreme Court stops public defenders from rejecting cases

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Missouri Supreme Court stops public defenders from rejecting cases

 

"COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that public defender offices could not outright reject cases due to their workloads.

The court got involved after public defenders in southwest Missouri's Stoddard County asked to stop taking cases. The Supreme Court decided that public defenders needed to go through rules set out in state law before deciding they could not handle a case.

Prosecutor Russell Oliver contested the public defender's efforts to avoid the new cases. He said in a news release that the state laws, passed in 2013, allow all sides of a case to be heard..."

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