Washington Governor Proclaims Public Defense Week

Attached is the proclamation from the governor declaring this Public Defense Week.  It recognizes the Gideon decision which celebrates its 56th Anniversary today and the work being done by public defenders across Washington.  Please share widely!

The Legal Aid Society Celebrates Public Defender Day with Call for Parity

The Legal Aid Society is launching a campaign on Monday, the anniversary of Gideon v Wainwright and Public Defender Day, to raise awareness of the huge disparity in salaries for public defenders and to bring them in line with those […]

Office of the Ohio Public Defender Celebrates Public Defense Week 2019!

Throughout the week, various OPD staff will share their stories and discuss their experiences in public defense and why they chose a career working in indigent defense.   The Office of the Ohio Public Defender will be celebrating National Public […]

Non-Serviam

“I mean, if they wanted a scorched-earth defense, they should have hired a private attorney,” said the court clerk, casually to me as I filed a motion. “You’re the public defender. That’s just like, you know, when you want someone […]

Montgomery County (PA) Preps for Public Defense Week

Next week is National Pubic Defense Week, highlighting the importance of legal representation for all and recognizing the 56th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision Gideon v. Wainwright (Decided March 18, 1963)… which held that the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of […]

National Public Defender Week

   It’s almost National Public Defender Day/Week! On Monday, March 18th, we will acknowledge the 56th anniversary of the landmark decision Gideon v. Wainwright and, as usual, we expect that this will be a mix of celebrating some wins (like dedicated staff, […]

A Eulogy for Jeff Adachi

Yesterday was the public memorial at City Hall for Public Defender Jeff Adachi. Chief Attorney Matt Gonzalez was just one of many people to deliver a eulogy, but his words spoke not only to Jeff’s life, but the meaning of […]

Big News: Progress in Tennessee

This blog port is republished with permission from the Civil Rights Corps mailing list. It was originally disseminated on 2/16/19. We have exciting news! A victory in a case challenging money bail and private probation. Thursday morning, a federal judge […]

Jeff Adachi: A Champion for Justice

I awoke on Saturday morning the 23rd of February to several emails telling me that Jeff Adachi, San Francisco’s superb elected Public Defender and a national figure of energy, passion, and vision, had died overnight at the age of 59.  […]

Reflections on Jeff Adachi, a Public Defender Hero

Late Friday night, I scrolled my twitter feed per usual to discover shocking news: San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi had died at the young age of 59.  In the several hours since that devastating discovery, I’ve read every tribute paid […]