Letter to ABA Litigation Journal: Defender Workloads are Unethical

We are now generating the reliable data and analytics (not just anecdotes and generalizations) that will provide the factual predicate for systemic case refusal as a remedy for such systemic Sixth Amendment and ethical violations all over the country.

NAPD Policy Statement on Independence (May 2020)

“NAPD calls upon its members and the legal profession to confront a threat to judicial independence wherever and whenever it manifests itself. Whenever genuine threats to judicial independence arise, whether in the form of an online petition to remove a […]

Open Letter to Judge Sean C. Gallagher, Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth Appellate District

Instead, you maintain, despite considerable evidence to the contrary, that our criminal justice system is “overwhelmingly fair” and that we must “find an acceptable balance between efficiency and justice.” Finally, you rather cynically urge all of us to “accept the […]

Joint Letter to U.S. Attorney General Requesting Federal Investigation in Orange County, California

“We write to urge the Department of Justice to initiate an investigation into the actions of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (“OCSD”) and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (“OCDA”) in connection with the use of jailhouse informants and the […]

Letter to U.S. House Judiciary Committee Supporting National Criminal Justice Commission and the National Center for the Right to Counsel

“We are submitting this letter in support of both the National CriminalJustice Commission Act and the National Center for the Right to Counsel Act.Passage of both of these bills, in our view, will be important in view of themany major […]

Letter to Louisiana House Judiciary Committee

Letter opposing proposed Capital Oversight Committee (LA HB 605).

Letter to U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Hearing on Misdemeanor Representation

“We write to thank you for holding the hearing on Wednesday, May 13on Protecting the Constitutional Right to Counsel for Indigents Charged withMisdemeanors and to file a post-hearing statement with the Committee. […]We followed the May 13 hearing closely, conferred […]

Policy Statement on the Predatory Collection of Costs, Fines, and Fees in America’s Criminal Courts

The collection of costs, fines, and fees in too many criminal courts across the United States are predatory in nature and an economic failure. These predatory practices impact poor people in catastrophic and life altering ways and are disproportionately levied […]

Statement on the Necessity of Meaningful Workload Standards for Public Defense Delivery Systems

“NAPD believes the time has come for every public defense provider to develop, adopt, andinstitutionalize meaningful workload standards in its jurisdiction.”

Letter to Maryland House Judiciary Committee

We, the undersigned officers of the National Association of Public Defense (NAPD), write in support of HB 1119. This legislation addresses the issue of excessive workloads which, along with insufficient resources, has been identified as the primary problem in public […]