Holder: Budget cuts threaten ‘integrity’ of justice system

“Across the country, these cuts threaten the integrity of our criminal justice system and impede the ability of our dedicated professionals to ensure due process, provide fair outcomes and guarantee the constitutionally protected rights of every criminal defendant,” Holder wrote in The Washington Post.

{mosads}Holder joins the judiciary branch’s call for Congress to address the cuts. Last week, nearly 100 district court chief judges sent a letter to congressional leaders pleading for more funding and warning that sequestration is “devastating” to the judiciary.

Holder urged Congress to undo the “draconian” budget cuts, arguing that sequestration undermines the Justice Department’s ability to provide the constitutional right to counsel.

“This shameful state of affairs is unworthy of our great nation, its proud history and our finest legal traditions,” Holder wrote. “Only Congress has the ability to restore the funding that federal defenders need to ensure that justice can be done. It is past time for our elected representatives to act.”