THE UNITED STATES PUBLIC DEFENDER SYSTEM

The United States Public Defender System

The United States Public Defender System

Different from the federal public defender system

The system of United States Public Defender follows by the Public defender: full- or part-time salaried public defenders provide representation, often in a central office that can include additional support staff. Contract counsel: private attorneys are selected to provide representation through a contract. The contract is often annual and may be awarded through a bidding process. Assigned counsel: private attorneys are selected to take cases and are paid by the case or the hour. Sometimes called panel attorneys, they are commonly used when the public defender's office has a conflict of interest in a case or other situations where public defenders or contract counsel cannot take a case. Article 94 of the Constitution provides that the exercise of judicial authority shall be vested in the Supreme Court, the Electoral Tribunal, the circuit courts (both those presided over by a panel of judges and those in which a single judge presides), and the district courts (Williams, 2006).

Circuit court judges and the district court judges are appointed and assigned to a court for a period of six years by the Council of the Federal Judiciary. At the end of that time, they may be confirmed or promoted. The appointment and promotion of the circuit court judges and the district court judges is conducted by means of an internal or open, competitive process. The selection process is based on written examinations that involve the preparation of written decisions on given cases and an oral examination before a panel. In making its evaluation, the panel also takes into consideration courses taken by applicants in the Institute of the Federal Judiciary, length of service in the federal courts, their performance, academic degrees and any refresher or specialized courses that they may have taken (Spangenberg , 2009).

Federal Public Defender System

Administration, oversight and disciplinary action with respect to the federal judiciary, with the exception of the Supreme Court, are the responsibility of the Council of the Federal Judiciary (CJF), which is an independent body in both practical and administrative terms and is empowered to issue decisions. CJF has seven members: the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who also presides over the Council; three circuit court and/or district court judges who are appointed by the Supreme Court in plenary; two members who are designated by the Senate; and one who is appointed by the President of Mexico. There is a conspicuous absence of women in this esteemed body, especially in view of the fact that it is responsible for appointing, assigning, confirming and removing members of the judiciary in Mexico. The Special Rapporteur would like to draw attention to the need for balanced representation of men and women who are knowledgeable about gender issues (Nobles, 2010).

The Public Prosecution Service is a key component of the justice system and is designed to ensure the proper investigation of crimes and prosecution of ...