Court Ruing Could be Costly for Washington County

It's never good to be on the business end of a class-action lawsuit...The New York Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit, which names Washington, Onondaga, Ontario, Suffolk and Schuyler counties as defendants, in 2007. The lead plaintiff is a woman who was prosecuted in Washington County for trying to smuggle marijuana into Great Meadow Correctional Facility. She claimed her court-appointed lawyer did not represent her adequately. One of the arguments by the NYCLU has been that many indigent defendants aren't afforded counsel at their initial arraignments.