National Symposium on Indigent Defense: Looking Back, Looking Forward, 2000-2010
February 18-19, 2010
Washington, DC
In 1999, the Department of Justice convened the National Symposium on Indigent Defense, bringing together defense attorneys, prosecutors, judges, victim advocates and legislators to explore ways that indigent defense system leaders could forge alliances, build and strengthen innovative partnerships, and otherwise collaborate to enhance the representation of indigent criminal defendants.
More than a decade later, the Department of Justice furthered the dialogue about improving the state of indigent defense in America. The National Symposium on Indigent Defense: Looking Back, Looking Forward 2000-2010 brought together officers of the court, as well as legislators and advocates.
The 2010 symposium served the dual purpose of assessing how far the country has come since the 1999 symposium and identifying critical areas for improvement moving forward. One of the primary goals of the symposium was to examine indigent defense systems by state and consider reform efforts across the country. Workshops covered vital policy issues such as reform through litigation and legislation and practical issues such as managing limited resources for indigent defense in tough economic times. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. delivered the keynote address.
Plenary Sessions included:
- Fulfilling the Promise of Counsel
- Innovations in Juvenile Defense Reform
- Indigent Defense Reform: The Many Modes of Collaboration
- Ensuring Quality Representation
- Strengthening Forensic Science
Papers —
-
Public Defender Excessive Caseload Litigation in Miami-Date County, Florida (pdf, 15 pages)—
Parker D. Thomson and Julie E. Nevins, Hogan & Hartson LLP - Maine's Journey Toward an Appropriate System for the Delivery Of Indigent Legal Services (pdf, 6 pages)
Ron Schneider, Chair, Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services
Presentations —
- State Collaborations for System Reform, includes video (pdf, 6 pages, 5.27 MB)
James D. Bethke, Director, Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense - How Investigative Reports Can Support ReformSupport Defense Reform (pdf, 33 pages)
Robert C. Boruchowitz, Professor from Practice, Defender Initiative at the Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, Seattle University School of Law - MacArthur Foundation Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network (JIDAN) (pdf, 10 pages)
Sue Burrell, Staff Attorney, Youth Law Center, Team Leader, California JIDAN Team - Post-Disposition Advocacy: Making a Critical Difference in Outcomes for Youth (pdf, 7 pages)
Honorable Michael Nash, Presiding Judge, Juvenile Court of the Los Angeles Superior Court; Patricia Lee, Managing Attorney Juvenile Unit, San Francisco Office of the Public Defender; Eric J. Zogry, North Carolina Juvenile Defender, State of North Carolina Office of the Juvenile Defender Durham, NC - Avoiding Data Collection Pitfalls (pdf, 12 pages)
Carl Richey, Justice Works, LLC. - State Prosecutors A Statutory History (pdf, 50 pages)
The Honorable John T. Chisolm, District Attorney, Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office, Milwaukee, Wisc. - Pretrial Investigation: Using the Government Lab (pdf, 17 pages)
Betty Layne DesPortes, Benjamin & DesPortes, PC, Richmond, Va. - Interrogation Gone Bad: Juvenile False Confessions in the post-DNA Age (pdf, 27 pages)
Steven A. Drizin, Clinical Professor of Law and Assistant Director, Bluhm Legal Clinic, Northwestern University - Indigent Defense (pdf, 28 pages)
Paul Giannelli, Weatherhead Professor of Law, Case Western Reserve University - Systems Evaluation Project (SEP): Measuring Quality by Looking at System Outcomes (pdf, 23 pages)
Margaret A. Gressens, Research Director, North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services (IDS) - New Jersey Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network (pdf, 29 pages)
Sandra Simkins, Clinical Professor, Children’s Justice Clinic, Rutgers School of Law— Camden, Camden, NJ - Probability Models for Impression and Pattern Evidence (pdf, 20 pages)
Sargur Srihari, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Buffalo, The State University of New York - Developing Post-Disposition Representation in North Carolina (pdf, 11 pages)
Eric J. Zogry, Juvenile Defender Office of the Juvenile Defender/Office of Indigent Defense Services North Carolina
Resources —
