Eleanor Goldfield hosts this week’s show. This past May, the US Supreme Court narrowed the protection of the Sixth Amendment, by ruling that a person convicted of a crime cannot cite ineffective legal representation in state court as grounds for appeal to the federal courts. In the first half of today’s program, attorney Mark Loudon-Brown explains the implications of that decision. Then in the second half-hour, Eleanor explores some of the ways big-party power brokers attempt to block third parties from the ballot, as well as constrain the influence of grassroots activists.
Notes:
Mark Loudon-Brown is a senior attorney at the Southern Center for Human Rights, and previously was a public defender in New York City. He holds law degrees from New York University and Georgetown University.