NCJ Number
87111
Date Published
1982
Length
425 pages
Annotation
Analysis of State and local government expenditures for indigent criminal representation (primarily in trial courts) reveals that defense services for the poor are insufficiently funded and that the number of well-trained defense lawyers for indigents is dwindling.
Abstract
The study determines the availability of government funds, analyzes current State expenditure levels for indigent defense services, and evaluates different delivery models. Inspections were conducted at five sites -- Saginaw, Mich.; San Francisco; Tuskegee, Ala.; Upper Marlboro, Md.; and Vancouver, Wash. -- to identify problems attributable to inadequate funding. There is abundant evidence that millions of indigents, who have a constitutional right to counsel, are denied effective legal representation -- defendants are inadequately represented, no lawyers are provided (especially in misdemeanor cases), or constitutionally defective waivers of counsel are accepted by the court. Appendixes cite current indigent defense costs and State laws pertaining to the assignment of private counsel and public defenders for each of the 50 States, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. They also list funds spent on indigent defense by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration between 1969 and 1976, summarize more than 35 recent studies of indigent defense programs throughout the Nation, and compare per capita expenditures for indigent defense systems nationwide. Footnotes are included. (Author summary modified)