Expert Services
We provide technical assistance that is tailored to the unique needs and requests in each jurisdiction. This ranges from staffing government task forces, to holding confidential one-on-one meetings, to testifying before legislatures when asked. We also educate the public through speaking engagements, our Pleading the Sixth blog, and sharing what we know about the right to counsel so you can help fix the issue.
Government Technical Assistance
Speaking Engagements
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February 26, 2014
University of Baltimore School of Law Baltimore, Maryland
Jon Mosher joins a panel discussion regarding the Maryland Court of Appeals’ recent decision in DeWolfe v. Richmond requiring the state to provide access to counsel at bail hearings and the implications of that ruling both locally and nationally.
September 19, 2013
Tennessee Judges Conference Gatlinburg, Tennessee
David Carroll, in conjunction with the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts, makes a presentation on “Towards a Uniform Definition of a ‘Case.’”
June 5, 2013
New Jersey State Public Defender Trenton, New Jersey
David Carroll makes a presentation on the state of indigent defense services in the United States and where national advocates tend to view New Jersey in relation to other states when it comes to providing an effective lawyer with the time and training to present an effective defense. A special emphasis is placed on the need for a statewide commission to protect the independence of the defense function, as New Jersey is just one of seven statewide, state-funded public defender systems where the chief defender is a gubernatorial appointee.
April 9, 2013
Brennan Center and John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, New York
David Carroll moderates a roundtable discussion on the constitutional right to counsel and the impact of Gideon v. Wainwright. Special emphasis is placed on what went right and what went wrong with indigent defense over the past 50 years and how to lay a path forward to fulfill Gideon’s promise. Panelists include: Karen Houppert (author of Chasing Gideon); Jonathan Gradess (Director of the New York State Defenders Association); Gloria Browne-Marshall (Associate Professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice); and Thomas Giovanni (Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice).
March 26, 2013
Rutgers School of Law – Student Chapter of the American Constitution Society Newark, New Jersey
David Carroll participates in a panel entitled “Gideon at 50: Providing Better Representation to Indigent Criminal Defendants.” Other participants include: The Hon. Patricia Costello, Superior Court Judge; Joseph Krakora, New Jersey State Public Defender; Alexander Shalom, American Civil Liberties of New Jersey; and Paul Fishman, United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey.
March 19, 2013
Boston University School of Law Boston, Massachusetts
David Carroll addresses the impact of systemic indigent defense deficiencies on wrongful convictions. Special emphasis is placed on undue political and judicial interference and the use of United States v. Cronic to get at how systemic deficiencies prevent even the best lawyers from providing constitutionally effective right to counsel services.
Support Our Work
Criminal justice issues that disproportionately harm poor people, such as wrongful convictions and over-incarceration, cannot be fixed if indigent defendants are given attorneys who do not have the time, resources, or qualifications, to be a constitutional check on government. Yet, investment in improving indigent defense services remains largely neglected. The Sixth Amendment Center is the only nonprofit organization in the country that exclusively examines, uncovers, and helps fix the root of the indigent defense crisis in which inequality is perpetuated because poor defendants do not get a fair fight.
The Sixth Amendment Center is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization under EIN: 45-3477185.
Donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowable under the law.
