Forgotten in jail without a lawyer: How a Texas town fails poor defendants

[no_hypocrisy]

1. I understand how jailed defendants can fall through the cracks.

I was assigned a client in a NJ jail who had been there for months. (In NJ, when you're first admitted to the Bar, you have to take assigned criminal cases.) His crime was breaking a restraining order by yelling through a closed/locked door at his ex-wife.

His family scrounged up enough money to a bail bondsman for his release. But he remained in jail.

I visited my client to get his story and to get him released. I had a receipt of payment to show the court cashier, which was recognized. We went to court for a scheduled hearing for something else, but I took the opportunity to ask for his release and I'd be responsible for my client.

He was released upon my documentation of bail.

He had been in jail for months.

Later, upon research, I discovered that his "bondsman" wasn't registered with the State of New Jersey. He lacked "Letters of Accreditation".