Oregon chief justice asks lawyers to act as public defenders

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Walters in an unusual public request is asking members of the State Bar to take on clients in need of public defense. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports in a letter Thursday, Walters asked members of the State Bar to “help in representing those who are accused of a crime and cannot afford counsel, calling it a very basic and fundamental right that Oregon is struggling to accommodate.” The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution affords people charged with crimes an attorney provided by the state if they cannot afford their own.