Pleading the Sixth: On the heels of Utah’s comprehensive reform, the Idaho legislature steps up and empowers the state indigent defense commission created in 2014 to promulgate and enforce binding standards. The carrot for counties to comply comes in the form…
Tag: Ten Principles
Idaho empowers state commission with new authority and new funding
Tagged with: Canyon County ID, commissions, funding, Idaho, independence, legislation, Ten Principles
Utah reforms indigent defense with first-ever state dollars for trial representation
Pleading the Sixth: In these days of political strife and partisan antagonism, it is encouraging to see that government can still work and reach consensus for the benefit of the people, as demonstrated by the near unanimous passage of a…
Nevada Supreme Court bans flat fee contracting
Pleading the Sixth: On July 23, 2015, the Nevada Supreme Court banned the use of flat fee contracts in the provision of indigent defense services. The same order endorses the statewide commission format. Will the order force legislative change? The…
Wisconsin’s low attorney compensation rates create conflicts for the indigent accused
Pleading the Sixth: Imagine holding the same job for 30 years without ever once receiving a raise. If that job required you to pay for many of the associated costs of doing business, inflation alone would have significantly decreased your…
Tagged with: assigned counsel, compensation & expenses, conflicts, contracts - flat fee, Ten Principles, Wisconsin
North Carolina’s independence issue exposed
Pleading the Sixth: Not all statewide commissions are equal. For many years, the North Carolina Commission for Indigent Defense Services has been upheld as an example of how best to create a statewide public defender commission. After all, when it…
Closing Arguments with Fred Friedman
“Closing Arguments” is a joint venture of the National Association for Public Defense (NAPD) and the Sixth Amendment Center (6AC). The 6AC regularly sits down with long-time right to counsel leaders nearing the end of their careers to share thoughts and…
Tagged with: commissions, county systems, Fred Friedman, funding, independence, Minnesota, Ten Principles
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