ABA Public Defense Summit
Agenda
2022 ABA Public Defense Summit
In almost every jurisdiction in the country, some portion of public defense work is undertaken by private practice attorneys operating as either court appointed or contract counsel. The 2022 ABA public defense summit focused on the needs and oversight of such attorneys, whether they were representing all individuals charged with crimes in their jurisdiction or just a small portion thereof.
Viewing the content of this program on this page does not meet requirements for continuing legal education (CLE) accreditation. You will not receive CLE credit for viewing.
Welcome Remarks
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General Materials on Oversight and Administration>>
Thursday, April 21, 2022
Session 1: Finding and Retaining Qualified Counsel
Thursday Noon – 1:30 pm ET
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Speakers & Moderator:
Andrew Davies
Director of Research
Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center, SMU Law School, Dallas, TX
Hannah Haksgaard
Professor, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD
Jonathan Rosen
Legal Resources and Technology Director
Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel, Denver, CO
Nora Christenson
Chief Hurrell-Harring Implementation Attorney
NY Office of Indigent Legal Services, Albany, NY
Bonnie Hoffman (Moderator)
Director of Public Defense Reform, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Washington, DC
Increasingly public defense systems are facing a crisis of staffing; they cannot hire enough attorneys to cover the caseload. This problem is particularly acute in rural areas. This panel will explore ways to quantify, address and solve this problem - looking not only at recruitment and retention methods, but also at use of data to both detail where problems are and predict where they are likely to emerge in the future. This panel will also address the issue of matching qualifications to cases amidst staffing shortages.
Session 2: Limiting and Monitoring Workloads
Thursday 1:45 - 3:15 pm ET
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Speakers and Moderator:
Katrin Johnson
Lead Managing Attorney, Public Defense Improvement Project
Washington State Office of Public Defense, Olympia, WA
Kathleen Dougherty
Executive Director
Onondoga County Bar Association Assigned Counsel Program, Syracuse, NY
Ken Hardin
Executive Director
Harris County Managed Assigned Counsel Program, Houston, TX
Bob Boruchowitz (Moderator)
Professor from Practice and Director of the Defender Initiative
Seattle University School of Law, Seattle, WA
Limiting and managing workloads in assigned counsel and contract systems is uniquely complex because attorneys are often taking private cases, in addition to their public defense work. This panel will address what data is needed to appropriately monitor and limit workloads, who can and should set workload limits in assigned counsel and contract systems, and what happens when workload limits are exceeded.
Session 3: Attorney Oversight and Reviews
Thursday, 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm ET
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Speakers and Moderator:
Rose King
Director, Private Counsel Services
Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services
Adam Narris
Staff Counsel, Private Counsel Services
Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services
Cyn Yamashiro
Director of Indigent Defense Services
LA County Bar Association
Barbara DiFiore
Program Manager
Second Department, NYC
Malia Brink (Moderator)
Senior Policy Attorney, Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center, SMU Law School
Principle 10 of the ABA 10 Principles provides that defense counsel is supervised and systematically reviewed for quality and efficiency according to nationally and locally adopted standards. This panel will address how substantive oversight of attorneys is conducted effectively in assigned counsel and contract systems including the role of court observation and client feedback.
Friday, April 22, 2022
Session 4: Ethical Potpourri
Friday, 12:00 - 1:30 pm ET
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Speakers and Moderator:
Pamela Metzger
Director, Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center
SMU Law School
Travis Finck
Executive Director
ND Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents
Irene Oritseweyinmi Joe
Professor, UC Davis School of Law
Malia Brink (Moderator)
Senior Policy Attorney, Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center, SMU Law School
Contract and assigned counsel systems present unique ethical issues. This panel will address ethical issues specific to contract and assigned counsel systems, including:
- What case information can lawyers share with oversight authorities without individual client consent?
- Can oversight authorities solicit information directly from clients?
- Can/should oversight authorities be informed of ethical complaints made against participating attorneys?
Session 5: Financial Oversight and Auditing Issues
Friday, 1:45 pm - 3:15 pm ET
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Speakers and Moderator:
Shannon Evans
Executive Director
Lubbock Private Defenders Office
William E. Shay
Director, Audit and Oversight
Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services
Maureen Essex
CJA Supervising Attorney
United States District Court for the District of Maryland
Kathleen Casey-Gamez (Moderator)
Senior Policy Analyst, Texas Indigent Defense Commission
Attorneys in contract and assigned counsel systems can be paid by hour, by event, by case or by time period. This panel will address the best practices in financial oversight and auditing, including how bills should be submitted, rules about billing, when audits are triggered and how audits are conducted.
Session 6: Compensation and Related Issues
Friday, 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm ET
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Speakers and Moderator:
Bradley Hall
Administrator of the Michigan Appellate Assigned Counsel System (MAACS), Detroit, MI
Derrick Mason
Director and Chief Counsel
Indiana Public Defender Commission, Indianapolis, IN
Bradley Hargis
Capital Area Private Defender Service
Joanna Landau (Moderator)
CJA Supervising Attorney
United States District Court for the District of Utah
This panel will address best practices in compensation for contract attorneys and assigned counsel. It will address issues including covering overhead and support staff, as well as access to social workers, investigators, and experts. In particular, the panel will spotlight successful efforts at improving compensation and increasing access to and use of investigators, socials workers and experts.