For lawyers and their clients confronting issues relating to criminal law, the Backup Center provides information through its publications, trainings, consultations with the attorneys, and this website. In addition to the material below that is specific to criminal practice, see the materials under Public Defense Issues and Positions and Studies, under Our Work, for documents that relate to public defense criminal practice. Archived material may be found at Reports & Studies under NYSDA History in About Us. Other areas of the website also contain information relevant to criminal defense issues or cases, such as the Legislation page.
Publications of Interest
- How to Get Funding for Experts, Investigators & Auxiliary Services (NYSDA - text only)
- How to Get Funding for Experts, Investigators & Auxiliary Services (NYSDA - graphic guide)
- Computer Buying Guide for Public Defense Attorneys (NYSDA)
- Artificial Intelligence Starter Guide (NYSDA)
- Chief Defenders List (NYSDA)
- New York Lesser Included Offenses (NYSDA 2023)
- A Defense Attorney’s Guide: Representing Adolescents (Prepared by Alan Rosenthal in cooperation with the Broome County Assigned Counsel Program, September 2024)
- The Impact of Discovey Reform Implementation in New York - Report of a Defense Attorney Survey Conducted Jointly by: Chief Defenders Association of New York, New York State Defenders Association, NYS Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and NYS Office of Indigent Legal Services (March 2022)
- Less is More Primer (NYSDA 2021)
- Criminal Procedure Law Section 30.30(1) Manual (Fall 2025 Edition) (Drew R. Dubrin, Monroe County Public Defender's Office)
- Practice Advisory: The START Act – Expanded Criminal Record Relief for Trafficked Individuals, The Legal Aid Society Exploitation Intervention Project (2023)
- Defending Against the New Scarlet Letter: A Defense Attorney's Guide to SORA Proceedings, 2nd Edition (Alan Rosenthal, in cooperation with Onondaga County Bar Association Assigned Counsel Program February 2022)
- Getting the Expert Funds You Need Under County Law § 722-c (NYSDA 2016)
- Obtain Clients' & Witnesses' Criminal Histories – the Earlier, the Better (NYSDA 2012)
- Community Justice Exchange and Defender Impact Initiative, Social Media Toolkit for Organizing and Advocacy to End Mass Criminalization and Incarceration, April 2020
- NYS Criminal Jury Instructions 2nd
- NYS Office of Indigent Legal Services Standards for Determining Financial Eligibility for Assigned Counsel (Feb. 16, 2021)
- NYS Office of Indigent Legal Services Standards and Criteria for the Provision of Mandated Representation in Cases Involving a Conflict of Interest (extended to include all trial level representation)
- NYS Office of Indigent Legal Services Appellate Standards and Best Practices
- Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual (13th Edition) (Columbia Human Rights Law Review)
- Pro Se (Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York)
Links of Interest
New York Laws and Regulations
New York Courts
Persons in Custody Locators
Prosecution, Law Enforcement, and Corrections
Other NYS Agencies
National Public Defense/Criminal Justice Organizations
Loan Forgiveness
