State Resources

www.lawhelp.org
Find free legal aid programs, information and forms for your state or territory.

Public Defender Directory

Criminal Justice Policy Foundation's State Clemency Guide
Information on executive clemency procedures for each state. 

Directory of Crime Victim Services
Searchable by location, victimization, service needed, and/or agency type.

Restoration of Rights Project
A detailed state-by-state analyses of the law and practice in each U.S. jurisdiction relating to restoration of rights and status following arrest or conviction.

Alabama

Legal Services Alabama
Call Toll Free: 1-866-456-4995
http://www.legalservicesalabama.org/
Note: Legal Services Alabama cannot assist with criminal legal cases.

Equal Justice Initiative
Phone: (334) 269-1803
http://www.eji.org

Alaska

Alaska Legal Services Corporation
Phone: (907) 272-9431
https://www.alsc-law.org/

Alaska Public Defender Services Directory
Phone: (907) 334-4400
http://doa.alaska.gov/pda/
 

Arizona

Arizona Capital Representation Project
Phone: (520) 229-8550
http://www.azcapitalproject.org

Arizona Public Defender Offices
Toll-free Phone: 1-866-899-APDA
https://apda.us/statewide-offices/

Arkansas

Arkansas Public Defender Commission
Phone: 501-682-9070
https://apdc.arkansasadmin.net/

The Midwestern Innocence Project
Phone:  (816) 221-2166
https://themip.org/

Legal Services of Arkansas
Phone: 1-800-9-LAW-AID
http://www.arlegalservices.org/
Note: Legal Services of Arkansas cannot assist with criminal legal cases.
 

California

California Public Defender Directory
Phone: 916 362 1686 ext. 304
http://www.cpda.org/county/countyPDWebsites.html

Capital Habeas Unit of the Federal Defender for the Eastern District of California
http://www.cae-fpd.org

Office of the Federal Public Defender Capital Habeas Unit
http://www.fpdcacd.org

California Courts Online Self-Help Center
http://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp-start.htm

UC Berkeley School of Law Death Penalty Clinic
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/death-penalty-clinic/

California Innocence Project (CIP)
Phone: (619) 525-1485 
http://www.californiainnocenceproject.org

Prison Law Office
http://www.prisonlaw.com

Colorado

Colorado State Public Defender Office
Phone: (303) 764-1400
http://www.coloradodefenders.us/

Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel
Phone: 303-515-6920
http://www.coloradoadc.org

Connecticut

Division of Public Defender Services
Phone: (860) 509-6400
http://ct.gov/ocpd

Capital Defense and Trial Services Unit
Office of the Chief Public Defender
Phone: (860) 509-6418

The Connecticut Innocence Project / Post Conviction Unit
Phone: (860) 258-4940
https://portal.ct.gov/OCPD/Innocence-Project/Connecticut-Innocence-Project
 

Delaware

Delaware Public Defender Offices Directory
http://publicdefender.delaware.gov

Delaware Community Legal Aid Society
http://www.declasi.org
Kent County: 302-674-8500 | New Castle County: 302-575-0660 | Sussex County: 302-856-0038
Note: Delaware Legal Aid cannot assist with criminal legal cases.
 

District of Coloumbia

Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia
Phone: (202) 628-1200
http://www.pdsdc.org/

Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia
Phone: (202) 628-1161
https://www.legalaiddc.org/

Florida

Florida Public Defenders Association
https://www.flpda.org/home

Florida Center for Capital Representation at FIU Law
Phone: (305) 348-7541
https://law.fiu.edu/academics/experiential-learning/fccr/

University of Miami School of Law Innocence Clinic
https://www.law.miami.edu/academics/clinics/innocence-clinic

Florida Legal Services, Inc.
(904) 385-7900
http://www.floridalegal.org
Note: Florida Legal Services cannot assist with criminal legal cases.
 

Georgia

Georgia Public Defenders Council
Phone: (404) 795-2440
http://www.gapubdef.org/

Georgia Resource Center
http://www.garesource.org

Federal Defender Program, Inc.
Phone: (404) 688-7530
https://gan.fd.org/

Southern Center for Human Rights
Phone: (404) 688-1202
http://www.schr.org

Georgia Legal Services Program
(404) 206-5175 or 1-800-498-9469
http://www.glsp.org
Note: Georgia Legal Services cannot assist with criminal legal matters.
 

Hawaii

Legal Aid Society of Hawaii
Phone: 808-536-4302
http://www.legalaidhawaii.org/
Note: The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

Hawaii Public Defender Services Office
http://publicdefender.hawaii.gov/
 

Idaho

Idaho State Appellate Public Defender
https://sapd.idaho.gov/

Idaho Legal Aid Services
Phone: (208) 746-7541
http://www.idaholegalaid.org
Note: Idaho Legal Aid Services cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

Federal Defender Services of Idaho Capital Habeas Unit
Phone: (208) 331-5530
https://id.fd.org/

Illinois

State of Illinois Office of the Public Defender
Phone:  (217) 782-7203
https://www2.illinois.gov/osad/AboutUs/Pages/ContactUs.aspx

Illinois Legal Aid
https://www.illinoislegalaid.org/get-legal-help
 

Indiana

Indiana Legal Services Support
Phone: (317) 631-9410
http://www.indianajustice.org

Indiana State Public Defender Office
https://www.in.gov/judiciary/defender/index.htm

Iowa

Iowa Legal Aid
Phone: 1-800-532-1275
http://www.iowalegalaid.org
Note: Iowa Legal Aid cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

The Midwestern Innocence Project
https://themip.org/

Iowa State Public Defender
Phone: (515) 242-6158
http://spd.iowa.gov/
 

Kansas

Kansas State Board of Indigents’ Defense Services
Phone: (785) 296-6631
http://www.sbids.org

Kansas Legal Services Inc.
Phone: 1-800-723-6953
http://www.kansaslegalservices.org
Note: Kansas Legal Services cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

The Midwestern Innocence Project
https://themip.org/

Kentucky

Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy
https://dpa.ky.gov/

Kentucky Innocence Project
https://dpa.ky.gov/home/about-dpa/who-we-are/kip/

Kentucky Equal Justice Center
http://www.kyequaljustice.org
Phone: (859) 233-3057
Note: The Kentucky Equal Justice Center cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy Capital Post-Conviction Unit
Phone: (502) 564-3948
https://dpa.ky.gov/home/about-dpa/who-we-are/post-trial/
 

Louisiana

Louisiana Public Defender Office
http://lpdb.la.gov/Office%20Locations/District%20Offices.php

Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana
Phone: (504) 212-2110
http://lpdb.la.gov/Serving%20The%20Public/Programs/Capital%20Post%20Conviction%20Project%20of%20Louisiana.php

Innocence Project New Orleans
http://www.ip-no.org

Louisiana Appellate Project
http://www.appellateproject.org

Louisiana Capital Assistance Center
Phone: (504) 558-9867
http://www.thejusticecenter.org/lcac
 

Maine

Note: Maine has no state-level indigent defense office. County judges or the court clerk’s office can assign private attorneys to represent indigent criminal defendants.

Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services
Phone: (207) 287-3257
https://www.maine.gov/mcils/
 

Maryland

Office of the Public Defender
Phone: (877) 430.5187  
http://www.opd.state.md.us

Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project
Phone: 202-994-4586
http://www.exonerate.org

Office of the Federal Public Defender - Federal Capital Habeas Project
Website
 

Massachusetts

State of Massachusetts Public Defender Office
https://www.publiccounsel.net/

Mass Legal Help
https://www.masslegalhelp.org/

Volunteer Lawyers Project
Phone: (617) 603-1700
https://vlpnet.org/

Michigan

Michigan Legal Services
Phone: (313) 964-4130
https://milegalservices.org/
Note: Michigan Legal Services cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

Michigan State Appellate Defender Office
Phone: (313) 256-9833
http://www.sado.org

State Bar of Michigan Lawyer Referral Service
https://lrs.michbar.org/

Minnesota

State of Minnesota Board of Public Defense
Phone: (612) 279-3512
http://www.pubdef.state.mn.us

Minnesota Legal Services Coalition
Phone: (651) 228-9105
http://www.mnlegalservices.org/
Note: Minnesota Legal Services Coalition cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

Neighborhood Justice Center
Phone: 651-222-4703
http://www.njcinc.org

Legal Rights Center
Phone: (612) 337-0030
http://www.legalrightscenter.org

Mississippi

Mississippi Office of the State Public Defender
Phone: (601) 576-4290
http://www.ospd.ms.gov/

Louisiana Capital Assistance Center (handles some MS cases)
http://www.thejusticecenter.org

Mississippi Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel
Phone: (601) 359-5733
https://www.pcc.ms.gov/

Mississippi Legal Services Coalition
Phone: 1-800-498-1804
http://www.mslegalservices.org
Note: The Mississippi Legal Services Coalition cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

Mississippi Center for Justice
http://www.mscenterforjustice.org
 

Missouri

Missouri Office of the State Public Defender
Phone: (573) 777-9977
http://www.publicdefender.mo.gov/

The Midwestern Innocence Project
http://www.themip.org
 

Montana

Montana Legal Services Association
Phone: 1-800-666-6899
http://www.mtlsa.org
Note: Montana Legal Services Association cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

Office of the State Public Defender
Phone: (406) 444-9505
http://publicdefender.mt.gov

Montana Innocence Project
https://mtinnocenceproject.org/

Nebraska

Nebraska Office of the Public Defender
Phone: (855) 690-9458
https://ne.fd.org/

The Midwestern Innocence Project
http://www.themip.org

Nebraska State Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project
Phone: (402) 986-6501
https://nevlp.org/
Note: The NBA Volunteer Lawyers Project cannot assist with criminal legal matters.
 

Nevada

Federal Public Defender for the District of Nevada
Phone: (702) 388-6577
https://fpdnevada.org/

Clark County Public Defenders Office
Phone: (702) 455-4685
http://www.clarkcountynv.gov/public-defender/Pages/default.aspx

Rocky Mountain Innocence Center
Phone: (801) 355-1888
http://rminnocence.org/
 

New Hampshire

New Hampshire Legal Assistance
1-800-639-5290
http://www.nhla.org/
Note: New Hampshire Legal Assistance cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

New Hampshire Public Defender
Phone: 1-800-464-0652
http://www.nhpd.org/
 

New Jersey

New Jersey Office of the Public Defender
Phone: (609) 292-7087
http://www.state.nj.us/defender/

Legal Services of New Jersey
Phone: (732) 572-9100
http://www.lsnj.org
Note: Legal Services of New Jersey cannot assist with criminal legal matters.
 

New Mexico

New Mexico Public Defender Office
Phone: (505) 395-2888
http://www.lopdnm.us/

Office of the Public Defender - District of New Mexico
Phone: (505) 346-2489
https://nm.fd.org/

University of New Mexico School of Law - New Mexico Innocence & Justice Project
Phone: (505) 277-1415
http://lawschool.unm.edu/ijp/index.html

New Mexico Legal Aid
Phone: (505) 633-6694
https://www.newmexicolegalaid.org/
Note: New Mexico Legal Aid cannot assist with criminal legal matters.
 

New York

The Legal Aid Society
Phone: (212) 577-3300
https://www.legalaidnyc.org/
Note: The Legal Aid Society cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

New York Office of the Appellate Defender
Phone: (212) 402-4100
https://oadnyc.org/

New York State Defenders Association
Phone: (518) 465-3524
http://www.nysda.org

The Innocence Project
Phone: (212) 364-5340
http://www.innocenceproject.org
 

North Carolina

North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence
Phone: (919) 489-3268
https://www.nccai.org/

North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission
Phone: (919) 890-1580
http://www.innocencecommission-nc.gov

North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services, Inc.
Phone: (919) 856-2200
http://www.ncpls.org

North Carolina Public Defender Offices Directory
Phone: (919) 354-7200
http://www.ncids.org/

North Carolina Center for Death Penalty Litigation
Phone: (919) 956-9545
http://www.cdpl.org
 

North Dakota

Legal Assistance of North Dakota
Phone: 1-800-634-5263
http://legalassist.org
Note: Legal Assistance of North Dakota cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents
Phone: (701) 845-8632
http://www.nd.gov/indigents/attorney

Ohio

University of Cincinnati College of Law - Ohio Innocence Project
https://law.uc.edu/real-world-learning/centers/ohio-innocence-project-at-cincinnati-law.html

Office of the Ohio Public Defender
Phone: (614) 466-5394
http://www.opd.ohio.gov
 

Oklahoma

The Midwestern Innocence Project
http://www.themip.org

Oklahoma County Public Defenders Office
Phone: (405) 713-1550
https://www.oklahomacounty.org/169/Public-Defender

Oklahoma City Public Defender
Phone: (405) 297-3190
https://www.okc.gov/departments/municipal-court/general-information/public-defender

Oregon

Office of Public Defense Services
Phone: (503) 378-3349
http://www.oregon.gov/opds

Metropolitan Public Defender Services
Phone: (503) 225-9100
http://www.mpdlaw.com/

Legal Aid Services of Oregon
Phone: (503) 224-4094
https://lasoregon.org/
Note: Legal Aid Services of Oregon cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

Pennsylvania

Defender Association of Philadelphia (includes Capital Habeas Unit)
Phone: (215) 568-3190
http://www.philadefender.org

Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network
Phone: (717) 236-9486
http://www.palegalaid.net
Note: Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

Pennsylvania Innocence Project
Phone: (215) 204-4255
http://www.innocenceprojectpa.org

Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Phone: (215) 928-0520
http://pae.fd.org

Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Pennsylvania
Phone: (412) 644-6565
https://paw.fd.org/

Rhode Island

Rhode Island Legal Services
Phone: (401) 274-2652
https://www.helprilaw.org/
Note: Rhode Island Legal Services cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

Rhode Island Public Defender
Phone: (401) 222-3289
http://www.ripd.org
 

South Carolina

South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense
Phone: (803) 734-1343
http://www.sccid.sc.gov

Justice 360
Phone: (803) 765-1044
https://justice360sc.org/

South Carolina Legal Services
Phone: 1-(888) 346-5592
http://www.sclegal.org
Note: South Carolina Legal Services cannot assist with criminal legal matters.
 

South Dakota

Minnehaha Public Defender
Phone: (605) 367-4242
https://www.minnehahacounty.org/dept/pd/pd.php

East River Legal Services
Phone: (605) 336-9230 
https://erlservices.org/
Note: East River Legal Services cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

Dakota Plains Legal Services
Phone: (605) 856-4444
https://www.dpls.org/
Note: Dakota Plains Legal Services cannot assist with criminal legal matters.
 

Tennessee

Nashville Office of the Public Defender
Phone: (615) 862-5730
https://publicdefender.nashville.gov/

Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services
Phone: 1-888-395-9297
http://www.tals.org
Note: Tennessee Legal Services cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

Tennessee Office of the Post-Conviction Defender
Phone:  (615) 741-9331
http://www.tnpcdo.net

Texas

Texas Office of Capital Writs
Phone: (512) 463-8600
http://www.ocw.texas.gov

Gulf Region Advocacy Center
Phone: (713) 869-4722
http://www.gracelaw.org

Texas Defender Service
Houston: (713) 222-7788
Austin: (512) 320-8300
http://www.texasdefender.org

Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases
Phone: (806) 775-1520
http://rpdo.org/

Office of the Federal Public Defender, Western District of Texas
https://txw.fd.org/

Utah

Rocky Mountain Innocence Center
Phone: (801) 355-1888
http://rminnocence.org/

Utah Legal Services Inc.
Phone: (800) 662-4245
http://www.utahlegalservices.org/public/office_locations
Note: Utah Legal Services cannot assist with criminal legal matters.
 

Vermont

Vermont Legal Aid Inc.
Phone: 1-800-889-2047
 http://www.vtlegalaid.org/contact-locations/
Note: Vermont Legal Aid cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

Office of the Defender General (Public Defense & Assigned Counsel)
Phone: (802) 828-3168
http://www.defgen.vermont.gov
 

Virginia

Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project
Phone: (202) 994-4586
http://www.exonerate.org

Virginia Public Defender Office
Phone: (804) 662-7249
http://www.publicdefender.state.va.us/

Virginia Poverty Law Center
Phone: (804) 782-9430
https://vplc.org/
 

Washington

Washington State Office of Public Defense
Phone: (360) 586-3164
http://www.opd.wa.gov

Washington Office of Civil Legal Aid
Phhone: (360) 704-4135
http://www.ocla.wa.gov
Note: The Office of Civil Legal Aid cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

Public Defender Organization
http://www.defender.org
 

West Virginia

West Virginia Public Defender Services
Phone: (304) 558-3905
https://pds.wv.gov/Pages/default.aspx

Legal Aid of West Virginia
Phone: 1-866-255-4370
http://www.lawv.net
Note: Legal Aid of West Virginia cannot assist with criminal legal matters.

Wisconsin

Legal Action of Wisconsin
Phone: 855-947-2529
http://www.legalaction.org

The Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office
https://www.wispd.gov/office-locations

Wyoming

Rocky Mountain Innocence Center
Phone: (801) 355-1888
http://rminnocence.org/

Office of the State Public Defender
Phone: (307) 777-7519
https://wyodefender.wyo.gov/

Legal Aid of Wyoming
Phone: (307) 432-0807
http://www.lawyoming.org