Assessment of the Texas RioGrande Legal Aid Public Defender Division

“In 2019, TIDC and the Director of TRLA PD asked the National Association for Public Defense’s
Systems Builders Committee to assess the progress of this relatively new effort by TRLA. Two
consultants from that committee completed that assessment over 2020, identifying strengths
and weaknesses and making findings and recommendations.”

Recommendations:

1. Leaders in TRLA PD should either have a reduced or no caseload.
2. TRLA PD should be intimately involved in the recruiting of attorneys.
3. TRLA PD should contract with private attorneys to handle the caseloads of departing
   attorneys until the attorneys are replaced.
4. The job duties of investigators should be redefined to emphasize performing criminal defense investigations.
5. A Training Director should be hired to create and implement a comprehensive training program for TRLA attorneys.
6. TRLA attorneys should be present at magistration, and TIDC and the counties should provide funding to make this happen.