50 Years Later: The Legacy of Gideon v. Wainwright

Weaving the story of this iconic case with contemporary portraits of legal injustice, this film highlights the importance of a system that guarantees representation for all-and the dire consequences when that system fails. Defending Gideon is courtesy of The Constitution Project.

Defending Gideon from The Constitution Project on Vimeo.

ABA Ten Principles Survey

Adherence of Public Defense Providers to the ABA Ten Principles: Perceptions, Benchmarks Achieved in Practice, Issues Encountered, and Technical Assistance Needs Emerging, January, 2015

Survey Report: Highlights. These Highlights provide a brief synopsis of the survey results which ascertain perceptions of public defense providers regarding ability to adhere to each of the ABA Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System, the degree to which selected operational benchmarks referenced in the Commentary to the Principles were being achieved, issues being addressed, and areas for technical assistance needed. See below the full survey report, Volume 1 and 2.

Adherence of Public Defense Providers to the ABA Ten Principles: Perceptions, Benchmarks Achieved in Practice, Issues Encountered, and Technical Assistance Needs Emerging, December 31, 2014

Volume One: Full survey report compiled in two volumes. This Volume One is the full survey report that is based on the results of a survey of state and local public defense providers conducted by American University, Justice Programs Office, School of Public Affairs in partnership with the National Legal Aid &Defender Association (NLADA) in early 2014. The report provides a summary of the responses of the 386 public defense providers who responded to the survey, including an overview of the public defense "environments" in which they worked and the degree to which they reported adhering to each of the Ten Principles as well as being able to achieve the operational benchmarks provided for each of the Principles in the ABA's supporting Commentary.

Adherence of Public Defense Providers to the ABA Ten Principles: Perceptions, Benchmarks Achieved in Practice, Issues Encountered, and Technical Assistance Needs Emerging, December 31, 2014

Volume Two, Supporting Materials: Full survey report compiled in two volumes. This Volume Two includes the appendices to the full survey report. The reportprovides supporting materials respondents provided relating to issues their respective jurisdictions were presently addressing relevant to their ability to adhere to each of the Ten Principles and achieve the associatedoperational benchmarks, including practices they had found effective;and references to websites that include sample forms, caseload standards, and other operational tools relevant to tasks and capabilities referenced in the Principles and Commentary. Please note the sample forms and websites submitted by the survey respondents in Appendix B. These forms and website links are also listed in the Right to Counsel Technical Assistance website's Resource page. We encourage the field to continue to submit their sample forms and websites as resources for their fellow public defense offices.

Appendix A: ABA Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System

Appendix B: Relevant Standards, Sample Forms and Website References Provided by Survey Respondents and Selected Additional Public Defense Office Materials

Appendix C: Survey Responses re Issues Being Addressed in Respondents' Jurisdiction Relating to Adhering to the ABA Ten Principles as Reported By Respondents

Appendix D: Effective Practices Reported by Respondents Promoting Adherence to the ABA Ten Principles

Appendix E: Technical Assistance Requested by Respondents (Selected List)

Issue Paper #1: Summary Survey Findings. Report of preliminary results of a survey to ascertain perceptions of public defense providers regarding ability to adhere to each of the ABA Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System, the degree to which selected operational benchmarks referenced in the Commentary to the Principles were being achieved, issues being addressed, and areas for technical assistance needed.

Issue Paper #2: Webinar Series: Budget Advocacy in 21st Century. The first of a three-part webinar series designed by AU and NLADA to provide strategies for presenting budget requests and developing the collaborative relationships needed for effective budget advocacy. This paper addresses the need to cultivate relationships with allies, both within and outside the criminal justice system, in support of defender offices' initiatives.

Issue Paper #3: Webinar Series: Budget Advocacy in 21st Century. The second of a three-part webinar series designed by AU and NLADA to provide strategies for presenting budget requests and developing the collaborative relationships needed for effective budget advocacy. This paper addresses the need to develop the capacity to effectively use data in helping advance public defender office's mission. It also briefly compares different data collection methods used in determining public defender resources needs.

Reports on Public Defense:

• The Right to Counsel in Utah: An Assessment of Trial-Level Indigent Defense Services, Sixth Amendment Center (October 2015)
• Indigent Defense Reforms in Brooklyn, New York, Center for Court Innovation (April 2015)
• Guidelines for Indigent Defense Caseloads: A Report to the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, Public Policy Research Institute (January 2015)
• Answering Gideon's Call Project: Attorney Workload Assessment, Center for Court Innovation (October 2014)
• The Missouri Project: A Study of the Missouri Public Defense System and Attorney Workload Standards, Rubin Brown (June 2014)
• No Day in Court: Marijuana Possession Cases and the Failure of the Bronx Criminal Courts, The Bronx Defenders (May 2013)
• Rationing Justice: The Underfunding of Assigned Counsel Systems, NACDL (March 2013)
• National Indigent Defense Reform: The Solution is Multi-faceted, ABA & NACDL (Jan 2013)
• Justice Denied: America's Continuing Neglect of Our Constitutional Right to Counsel, National Right to Counsel Committee (April 2009)
• Public Defense Reform Since Gideon: Improving the Administration of Justice by Building on our Successes and Learning from our Failures, JPO & NLADA (September 2008)
• Gideon's Broken Promise: America's Continuing Quest for Equal Justice, ABA SCLAID (Dec 2004)
• Improving Public Defense Systems: Good Practices for Federal Panel Attorney Programs, Vera Institute (June 2003)

Albany Law Review 78(3)

• Foreword
• How Do We Do Data in Public Defense?
• The ABA "Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System": How Close Are We to Being Able to Put Them into Practice?
• The Measure of Good Lawyering: Evaluating Holistic Defense in Practice
• The Trials of Indigent Defense: Type of Counsel and Case Outcomes in Felony Jury Trials
• Me and Mr. Jones: A Systems-Based Analysis of a Catastrophic Defense Outcome
• Make Them Hear You: Participatory Defense and the Struggle for Criminal Justice Reform
• What is the State of Empirical Research on Indigent Defense Nationwide? A Brief Overview and Suggestions for Future Research

Don't I Need A Lawyer?

The Critical Role of Public Service Loan Forgiveness in Access to Counsel and Equal Justice

Minor Crimes, Massive Waste: The Terrible Toll of America's Broken Misdemeanor Courts

Legal Aid/Public Defense Services: A Global Perspective

Survey: Adherence of Public Defense Providers to ABA Ten Principles September 2014

Gideon Case Materials

Bureau of Justice Statistics: Indigent Defense Services In The United States, FY 2008-2012-Updated

Bureau of Justice Statistics: State Government Indigent Defense Expenditures, FY 2008-2012- Updated