Exemplary Defense: A Study of Three Groundbreaking Projects in Public Defense
Ten Guidelines on Court Fines and Fees
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! The 2nd annual ABA Forum on Building Access to Justice for All will take place on October 23rd – 25th at The Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage, California. By combining the annual Joint IOLTA Conferences, the National Lawyer Referral Workshop, and SCLAID's own National Meeting of State Access to Justice Commission Chairs (also known as the "ATJ Chairs Meeting"), the 2024 Forum will provide unique educational training, networking opportunities, and support to access to justice commissions, IOLTA programs, lawyer referral programs, and others working to increase access to the civil justice system. Click on the link below to learn more about the 2024 Forum and to register for our ATJ Chairs Meeting!
The use of technology is essential to narrowing the justice gap, particularly in rural areas where attorneys are few and far between. This program focuses on initiatives taken and lessons learned in the “Four Corners” states (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah) to bridge justice gaps using technology. Attendees learned from our panel of experts about how their experiences could be applied to better address issues created by digital divides and legal deserts.
The ABA Public Defense Summit was held virtually on April 4-5, 2024, sponsored by the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense. The past year has seen two important developments in public defense standards. In August 2023, the ABA enacted the Revised Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System, thereby updating its core public defense standards for the needs of modern defense counsel and their clients. The following month saw the release of National Public Defense Workload Study, which employed empirical data and the consensus view of public defense experts to shed new light on the workload crisis facing defenders nationwide. This program will explore how facets of these new developments will shape public defender advocacy and policy in years to come. Ethics credit will be included.
Using interactive scenarios, this webinar addresses legal ethics considerations for legal aid and pro bono lawyers engaged in remote legal practice, focusing on issues unique to legal aid and pro bono practitioners, such as how to meet the ethical obligation of communication with remote or transient clients. The session also explores how the ABA Standards for the Provision of Civil Legal Aid provide guidance to managers of attorneys practicing remotely.
The ABA Conference on Language, Justice, and Technology - a pivotal event at the intersection of language access, cross-cultural communication, technology, and access to justice, was held on March 1 – 2, 2024 at Seattle University School of Law in Seattle, Washington. A virtual option was available for those unable to attend in person.
This webinar helped legal aid and pro bono lawyers better understand how to ethically and effectively represent vulnerable clients having diminished capacity through use of discussion scenarios based on real-world situations and focused on Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The scenarios also examined the ethical issues that supervisors and managers of lawyers working with vulnerable clients may encounter and addressed how the ABA Standards for the Provision of Civil Legal Aid applied in a manner consistent with the Model Rules. Our panel of experts then facilitated a dialogue among attendees about state and national resources available to help them address the unique ethical challenges they face in representing clients with diminished capacity in a legal aid or pro bono construct.
The ABA, in collaboration with Arnold Ventures, conducted "Penalizing the Poor, An Assessment of the Administration of Fines and Fees in Florida Misdemeanor Courts." The report examines the fines and fees charged to indigent defendants facing low-level charges in Florida courts from 2018 to 2023, and found that best practices, such as those found in the ABA Ten Guidelines on Court Fines and Fees, are routinely ignored. Fines and fees are assessed without regard for the person’s ability to pay, and inability to pay often results in additional administrative fees and collection penalties. This traps many Floridians already struggling financially in a cycle of debt from which it is incredibly difficult to escape.
Read - ReportIn this webinar, public defense experts Malia Brink and Cynthia Lee explain the results and uses of the National Public Defense Workload Study released in September 2023. The focus is on marshaling jurisdiction-specific data and the study results to understand funding needs. Participants also learn how to use the study to advocate for better resources for attorneys and their clients. Further discussion is devoted to the recently revised ABA Public Defense Principle on defender workloads, which incorporates the results of the study. This webinar is co-sponsored by the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid & Indigent Defense and the SMU Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center.
The National Public Defense Workload Study is the culmination of comprehensive review and analysis contained in 17 previously released state-level studies, many of which were conducted by the ABA. For the first time, we have a comprehensive national workload study based on empirical data and the consensus of indigent defense experts, and which reflects the standards of modern criminal defense practice. This study demonstrates the widespread problem of excessive defender caseloads, and can be used to assist public defense agencies, policymakers, and other stakeholders in evaluating defender workloads.
For sixty years, the ABA Standards for the Provision of Civil Legal Aid have provided guidance to the nation's legal aid organizations on best practices for the delivery of legal services to their clients. The Standards recently underwent a year-long revision and redrafting process, resulting in a newly adopted set of Standards that reflect today's legal aid practice. This six-hour training is designed for legal aid organization leaders, managers, staff, funders, and board members to learn how the Standards have been revised to better support the provision of high-quality legal services and to ensure that legal aid organizations are managed effectively.
Learn - MoreABA SCLAID partnered with Arnold Ventures to produce the report "Punishing the Poor: An Assessment of the Administration of Fines and Fees in New Mexico Misdemeanor Courts." The report examines the fines and fees charged to indigent defendants facing low-level charges in New Mexico courts, and found that best practices, such as those found in the ABA Ten Guidelines on Court Fines and Fees, are routinely ignored. Many defendants are assessed fines that that they cannot afford, and are subsequently jailed for their inability to pay. This system can trap poor defendants in a cycle of fines and jail time that not only increases mass incarceration, but which interrupts employment and other life activities that would have allowed them to pay these fines in the first place.
Read - ReportAdopted at the 2022 ABA Annual Meeting, the Ten Principles on Reducing Mass Incarceration articulate the critical steps necessary to help to combat the drivers of mass incarceration and ultimately reduce the number of people in jails and prisons nationwide.
Read - PrinciplesSCLAID’s resolution introduced at the 2022 ABA Midyear Meeting seeking adoption of its Ten Guidelines for Residential Eviction Laws passed the House of Delegates. The now-adopted policy was developed by the SCLAID Task Force on Eviction, Housing Stability, and Equity.
Read - ResolutionABA SCLAID and Moss Adams collaboratively conducted the Oregon Project, An Analysis of Public Defense Attorney Workloads. Published in January 2022, the Oregon Project includes an analysis of historical public defense caseloads and staffing, as well as a Delphi process, which resulted in attorney workload standards. Combining these analyses, the project determined that, at current caseloads, Oregon has a very substantial deficiency of contract public defense attorneys.
Read - ReportABA SCLAID and Moss Adams collaboratively conducted the New Mexico Project, an analysis of public defense attorney workloads. Published in January 2022, the New Mexico Project included an analysis of historical public defense caseloads and staffing, as well as a Delphi process, which resulted in attorney workload standards. Comparing these analyses, the project determined that New Mexico has a significant deficiency of public defense attorneys.
Read - ReportTogether with data and system analysis experts, ABA SCLAID has conducted public defender workload studies in Missouri, Louisiana, Colorado, Rhode Island and Indiana. This new report details ABA SCLAID’s use of the Delphi Method to establish jurisdiction-specific public defense workload standards and details lessons learned while conducting these studies.
Read - ReportThe SCLAID Task Force on Eviction, Housing Stability, and Equity brings together experts and leaders from ABA entities and external organizations to address the current national housing crisis.
Explore - Task ForceFor over 100 years, SCLAID’s work would not have been possible without ABA membership dues. Today's public interest lawyers of all practice backgrounds are able to join the ABA for significantly reduced dues rates of as little as $75 per year. These dues are critical to supporting not just the work of SCLAID, but also that of many other ABA public interest entities. Plus, membership provides a wide array of benefits tailored to the needs of our public interest practitioners. Join the ABA and support both our and your future!
Reports, news and more information related to indigent defense and public defender systems.
The Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense (SCLAID) is working to improve public defense systems nationwide.
These guidelines provide practical direction for government officials, policymakers and others charged with developing, reforming and administering court fines and fees. The guidelines seek to ensure that fines and fees are fairly imposed and administered and that the justice system does not punish people for the "crime" of being poor.
Learn - MoreReports, news and more information related to legal aid and access to justice commissions.
Access to Justice Commissions are collaborative entities that bring together courts, the bar, civil legal aid providers, and other stakeholders in an effort to remove barriers to civil justice for low-income and disadvantaged people.
Learn More - ATJ CommissionsFinancial resource limitations remain one of the largest barriers preventing civil legal aid providers, even with their pro bono allies, from addressing the needs of low-income client communities. The ABArray Legal Aid Funding Report provides users with online access to SCLAID's national legal aid funding data collection from 2003 to present.
Learn More - Legal Aid Funding DataAccess state research reports detailing existing authority for appointment of counsel in various types of civil proceedings.
Loan repayment programs ("LRAPs") and loan forgiveness programs have emerged as a solution for relieving the debt burden of some law graduates.
Learn - MoreThe Standards and extensive commentary provide guidance to courts in designing, implementing, and enforcing a comprehensive system of language access services that is suited to the needs in the communities they serve.
Help us improve access to justice by donating to the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid & Indigent Defense (SCLAID).
The Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense (SCLAID) serves the American Bar Association by addressing issues related to the delivery of civil legal aid and of criminal indigent defense. It maintains close relationships with state and local bar and legal aid/defender leaders, providing information and developing policy on civil legal aid and indigent defense. The Committee also works closely with leaders of the states' judiciaries and national judicial leaders in forging improvements in access to justice. It advocates for, and works to ensure the availability of, legal aid and defender services for indigent persons through a variety of activities and projects. SCLAID is the ABA’s oldest standing committee; established in 1920 under the leadership of Charles Evans Hughes. The Committee has adopted a strategic plan articulating four goals: (1) supporting resource development for public defender and legal aid programs, as well as for SCLAID itself; (2) establishing national guidelines and standards for legal aid and public defense while also recognizing exemplary programs; (3) advocating for meaningful access to the justice system for all; and (4) providing education and training on needs and gaps within current justice systems.
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