New York State
Defenders Association
194 Washington Ave,
Suite 500
Albany, NY 12210
(518) 465-3524
FAX: 465-3249

• Fact Finding Hearings Report
• Public Defense Data
• Public Defense Providers
• Defense Standards
• New York
• National
• Other States
• Arizona
• Georgia
• Kentucky
• Nevada
• Oregon
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Vermont
• Indexes, Biographies, Compilations
• Ethics Opinions

Fact Finding Hearings Report
The New York State Defenders Association, along with The League of Women Voters, held hearings on public defense services and issues surrounding representation of indigent clients in New YorkState during 1998. The testimony from these hearings, along with information about the topics covered and the witnesses who testified, may be viewed by clicking here.

In 2003-04, NYSDA conducted a series of hearings soliciting testimony from clients and client advocates concerning the quality of public defense in New YorkState. Transcripts of the hearings appear below:  

• Public Defense Speak Out—Schoharie County (April 22, 2004) (544K PDF). 
• Public Defense Speak Out—Schenectady County (Dec. 17, 2003) (240K PDF)Preliminary Report Concerning the Inadequacy of Defense Services Available to Farm Workers (Oct. 15, 2003) English (33K PDF) and Spanish (38K PDF) 
• Adequacy of Defense Services Available to Farm Workers in Genesee, Orleans and Monroe Counties (July 31, 2003) (485K PDF) 
• Adequacy of Public Defense Services in New York City and Commenting on Draft Client Standards for Client Centered Representation (June 24, 2003) (499K PDF)

Public Defense Data

The BackupCenter's Social Science Research Unit is unique in its ability to provide public defense attorneys with social science statistical research and analysis for use at trial and in appellate representation. The unit also provides technical assistance to state and local governments, issues opinion letters, and prepares studies concerning public defense systems.

Public Defense Providers

NYSDA publishes the official Chief Defender List of all assigned counsel, public defender and legal aid offices throughout New YorkState. From the Chief Defenders page you can go to resources created by these offices, such as the Monroe County Office of the Conflict Defender or New York City Legal Aid Society . A comprehensive list of other legal services organizations nationwide is available from Pine Tree Legal Services . The National Legal Aid and Defender Association produces an annual publication, Directory of Legal Aid and Defender Offices in the United States and Territories that encompasses civil and criminal public defense offices.
 

Defense Standards

This is a collection of resources on standards, reports and other publications concerning the quality of public defense services.

New York

• New York State Bar Association Standards for Providing Mandated Representation (NYSBA 2005)
• Standards for Providing Constitutionally and Statutorily Mandated Legal Representation in New York State (NYSDA 2004) (84K PDF).
• Crisis in Legal Representation of the Poor (1st Dept 2001)
• Determining Eligibility for Appointed Counsel in New York State (NYSDA 1994)
• General Requirements for All Organized Providers of Defender Services to Indigent Defendants (1stDep't 1997) (47K PDF)
• New York State Public Defense Commission Act Proposal (2001) (2.8MB PDF)
• Resolving the Assigned Counsel Fee Crisis: An Opportunity to Provide County Fiscal Relief and Quality Public Defense Services (NYSDA 2001) (200K PDF)
• Statement of Client's Rights (OCA)
• Client-Centered Representation Standards (2005) (10K PDF) Versión española (10K PDF)
• Client Involvement and Satisfaction, Quality Representation and Vigorous Advocacy (2000) (5K PDF)

National

• ABA Criminal Justice Standards
• NLADA National Standards Collection
• Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System (ABA)
• American Council of Chief Defenders Statement on Caseloads and Workloads (ACCD 2007)
• Comparative Analysis of Indigent Defense Expenditures and Caseloads in States With Mixed State and County Funding (Spangenberg Group 1998)
• Contracting for Indigent Defense Services (BJA 2000)
• Defense Counsel in Criminal Cases (BJS 2000)
• Indigent Defense (BJS 1996)
• Indigent Defense Services in Large Counties 1999 (BJS 2000)
• Indigent Defense Statistics (BJS)
• Keeping Defender Workloads Manageable (BJA 2001).
• Redefining Leadership for Equal Justice: Final Report of the National Symposium on Indigent Defense 2000 (BJA 2000)
•  State-Funded Indigent Defense Services 1999 (BJS 2001)
•  Ten Tenets of Fair and Effective Problem Solving Courts (NLADA 2001)
•  Indigent Defense Systems in the United States (Spangenberg Group 1995)
•  Improving State and Local Criminal Justice Systems (BJA 1998)

Other States

Arizona:

• Indigent Defense in Arizona (NACDL 2001)

Georgia:

• Report of the Chief Justice's Blue Ribbon Commission on Indigent Defense (2002)

Kentucky:

• State of Indigent Defense in Kentucky (1999)

Nevada:

• Indigent Defense Services in the State of Nevada (Spangenberg Group 2000)

Oregon:

• Indigent Defense Task Force III Report (2000)

Tennessee:

• Tennessee Public Defender Case-Weighting Study (1999)

Texas

• Texas Appleseed Fair Defense Project (2000-2001)
• Muting Gideon's Trumpet: The Crisis in Indigent Criminal Defense in Texas (State Bar of Texas 2000)

Vermont:

• Vermont Indigent Defense Task Force Report (2001)

Indexes, Bibliographies and Compilations

• ABA Criminal Justice Section Collection of Standards
• ABA Principle Resolutions on Indigent Defense
• ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendant Collection of Standards
• Compendium of Standards for Indigent Defense Systems (BJA 2000)
• Executive Session on Public Defense (Harvard)
• NACDL Collection of Standards
• NLADA Collection of Standards
• Spangenberg Group Publications

Ethics Opinions 

ABA Formal Opinion 06-441:: Ethical Obligations of Lawyers Who Represent Indigent Criminal Defendants When Excessive Caseloads Interfere With Competent and Diligent Representation (full-text sources: Louisiana Justice Coalition ; Louisiana Public Defender’s Association; State Appellate Defender Office (Michigan)