Indigent Defense / Public Defender Systems

Assisting in the reform and improvement of indigent defense systems across the country.

Securing Reasonable Caseloads:
Ethics and Law in Public Defense
by Professor Norman Lefstein

This publication has been sponsored by the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants. In a Foreword to the book, William Sessions, former Director of the FBI writes the following: “For all those committed to justice … this is a vital book by the nation's leading scholar on indigent defense systems. … [I]t is truly the first of its kind in a sorely understudied field.”

View the Table of Contents

Download the free PDF version of the book
or order your free hard copy today!

Seventh Summit on
Indigent Defense Improvement

Presented by
the Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants

Saturday, February 4th, 2012

Keynote Speaker:
United States Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr.

Please visit the Summit website
for materials.

Recent Developments and Highlights

An Update on State Efforts in Misdemeanor Reclassification, Penalty Reduction and Alternative Sentencing

The modification of minor misdemeanor offenses into infractions or non-jailable offenses has the potential to save states money that otherwise would be spent on litigation or expensive incarceration. Along with the Spangenberg Project, SCLAID offers an update to a 2008 issue paper on reclassification. The present report,which reviews recent and proposed legislative action, newspaper and media reports, previous studies and reports and interviews with experts, describes general trends of efforts in penalty reclassification,reduction and alternative sentencing methods, including diversion and specialty court programs. The Reclassification Report explains that states have seen varying levels of success in their reclassification,misdemeanor penalty reduction and alternative sentencing efforts.

State, County and Local Expenditures for Indigent Defense Services Report

The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees to all persons accused of a crime the right to counsel in their defense. The United States Supreme Court has clarified that the Sixth Amendment requires the government to make counsel available for persons accused of crime who cannot afford to hire an attorney. The right to appointed counsel applies to the federal government under the Sixth Amendment and to the states under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. States have responded to the Court’s mandate by developing a variety of systems through which indigent defense services are provided.

The State, County and Local Expenditures for Indigent Defense Services Report provides a description of each state’s indigent defense delivery system, the expenditures and the funding structure.

Restraining Excessive Defender Caseloads: The ABA Ethics Committee Requires Action
The Champion Magazine
By: Professor Norman Lefstein and Georgia Vagenas
"The ABA ethics opinion should be understood as a call to action by both individual defenders burdened with excessive caseloads, as well as by supervisors and heads of defender programs."

The State of Criminal Justice 2010

Authors from across the criminal justice field provide essays on topics ranging from white collar crime to international law to juvenile justice. This annual publication examines and reports on the major issues, trends and significant changes in the criminal justice system. As one of the cornerstones of the Section's work, the publication serves as an invaluable resource for policy-makers, academics, and students of the criminal justice system alike.

Mediation in Criminal Matters Project and Mini-Grants