Oregon defendants without a lawyer must be released from jail, US appeals court says

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that Oregon defendants must be released from jail after seven days if they don’t have an appointed defense attorney. OPB reports that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday called Oregon’s public defense system a “Sixth Amendment nightmare,” referring to the part of the U.S. Constitution that guarantees people accused of crimes the right to a lawyer. An Oregon Judicial Department dashboard shows that more than 3,000 people accused of crimes did not have a public defender as of Friday. Of those, nearly 150 people were in custody. But OPB reports that fewer people will actually be affected by Friday’s ruling.