ACLU demands mass release of inmates denied counsel

ATLANTA - Two civil rights groups sent letters Friday to judges around the state demanding the release of hundreds of inmates who were jailed for misdemeanors without having a lawyer. <br> <br> The letters come on the heels of a divided Supreme Court decision in May which ruled that defendants deserve a lawyer even if facing only a suspended jailed term for a minor charge. <br> <br> ``Any court that fails to release them is exposing themselves to liabilities,&#39;&#39; said Gerry Weber, legal director of them American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Georgia. ``We&#39;re going to be following up with a second letter.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The letter, co-authored by the head of the Georgia ACLU and the director of the Southern Center of Human Rights, were sent to all superior court, state court and municipal court judges in the state. <br> <br> The letter asks that each judge release those jailed in violation of the Supreme Court decision within a matter of days. <br> <br> Nationwide, thousands of defendants face misdemeanor charges every year for which the usual punishment is a suspended jail term. An unknown number of those have no lawyer. <br> <br> ``We further request that in the future the courts in your circuit refrain from revoking and sending to prison persons who did not have the benefit of counsel at their trial or arraignment and plea,&#39;&#39; the letter said. <br> <br> Across the country, judicial municipalities are scrambling to comply with the recent Supreme Court ruling. <br> <br> The high court&#39;s decision upheld an Alabama Supreme Court ruling in favor of LaReed Shelton, who acted as his own lawyer and was given a 30-day suspended sentence for assault, plus two years probation. The charge stemmed from a fight at his rural grocery store. <br> <br> Shelton argued that the state should have given him a lawyer because he could not afford his own and he might have faced jail time if authorities decided he was not living up to the terms of his probation. <br> <br> Alabama and an outside lawyer the court appointed to make a related argument said Shelton never would have been sent to jail, and could have had a lawyer if he needed one later in the court process. <br> <br> Alabama and its backers claimed that a ruling in favor of Shelton would mean costly and impractical requirements for states.