Pcra Public Defenders: Access to Justice in Postconviction Cases and Utah's New Postconviction Division

• Jurisdiction: Utah,United States
• Citation: Vol. 37 No. 1 Pg. 50
• Publication year: 2024
• Pages: 50
• topic: Civil Rights,Constitutional Law,Criminal Law,Public Sector Law

PCRA Public Defenders: Access to Justice in Postconviction Cases and Utah's New Postconviction Division Vol. 37 No. 1 Pg. 50 Utah Bar Journal January 2024

by Ian L. Quiel

"[I]t is better that ten guilty persons escape, than that one innocent suffer." 4 William Blackstone, Commentaries 352. Known as Blackstone's Ratio, this 250-year-old idea is a cornerstone of our criminal justice system. In an imperfect system, prone to human error and bias, we should err on the side of freedom, not punishment. A noble concept, but - as any criminal defense lawyer will tell you - easier in theory than in practice.

Blackstone's Ratio might be better understood as: mistakes happen. This is why Utah's Post-Conviction Remedies Act exists. Utah Code Ann. §§ 78B-9—101 to -503. Known by its acronym "PCRA," this statutory scheme is the embodiment of habeas corpus in Utah and allows wrongfully convicted individuals to petition the court to fix problems with their criminal convictions. While newly discovered evidence and factual innocence are grounds for PCRA relief, one's conviction may also be vacated if it was the result of constitutional violations, ineffective assistance of counsel, or a change in the law that impacts the integrity of the outcome. In theory, the PCRA exists to right the injustices that may slip through the cracks in the trial court and on direct appeal.

The PCRA means well but presents a procedural minefield for petitioners to navigate, who are often indigent, incarcerated, and with no access to legal counsel or meaningful resources. Unlike at trial and on appeal, Utahns do not have a right to counsel in PCRA cases. Until recently, petitioners had to rely on a patchwork network of willing pro bono lawyers or come up with thousands of dollars to hire private counsel. Ultimately, many petitioners were forced to go it alone. Meanwhile the State is always represented by the Attorney General.

To address this inequity, the Utah Legislature in 2022 amended the PCRA to allow petitioners access to state-funded postconviction public defenders. Now, a court may appoint lawyers from the Utah Indigent Appellate Defense Division (IADD) to represent qualifying petitioners in their PCRA cases, at both the district court level and on appeal. The Postconviction Division was then formed within IADD to take on this important duty.

This article gives a brief overview of the PCRA and the right, or lack thereof, to appointed counsel. It further discusses...