Indigent Defense / Public Defender Systems

Restraining Excessive Defender Caseloads: The ABA Ethics Committee Requires Action
The Champion Magazine
By: Professor Norman Lefstein and Georgia Vagenas
"The ABA ethics opinion should be understood as a call to action by both individual defenders burdened with excessive caseloads, as well as by supervisors and heads of defender programs."

ABA Formal Opinion 06-441
Ethical Obligations of Lawyers Who Represent Indigent Criminal Defendants When Excessive Caseloads Interfere With Competent and Diligent Representation.

As a special service to the public defender community, the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility is providing Formal Opinion 06-441 at no charge. Pursuant to agreement with the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility, the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants will authorize duplication of multiple copies of ABA Formal Opinion 06-441 for non-profit purposes. Requests for duplication of copies should be addressed to .

The State of Criminal Justice 2009

Authors from across the criminal justice field provide essays on topics ranging from white collar crime to international law to indigent defense. This annual publication examines and reports on the major issues, trends and significant changes in the criminal justice system. The publication serves as an invaluable resource for policy-makers, academics, and students of the criminal justice system alike. The 2009 volume contains 21 chapters focusing on specific aspects of the criminal justice field, with new addition of full text and reports of all of the adopted official ABA policies passed in 2008-2009 that address criminal justice issues.

Mediation in Criminal Matters Project and Mini-Grants