Public Defenders

668 ABA Journal Public Defenders articles.

The public defender approach to personal life

I started my legal career in the Oklahoma County Public Defender’s Office. During one of my 1L first-semester classes, the Oklahoma County public defender and the Oklahoma County district attorney spoke with my section. They conveyed the opportunities available in their offices and explained the application process. I knew from the beginning of law school that I wanted to practice criminal defense, so I showed up at the PD’s office the next day. The intern coordinator kindly told me to wait until I had at least finished my first round of final exams.

May 10, 2023 2:52 PM CDT

Court watch movement is growing in numbers and public attention

For the past two years, singer-songwriter Fiona Apple has volunteered with Courtwatch PG, the largest court watch program in the country, to observe legal proceedings in Prince George’s County, Maryland, from her home in Los Angeles. Apple has also joined a group of advocates calling attention to the concept of court watching and aiming to get more people involved.

Apr 19, 2023 8:24 AM CDT

28% of lawyers in this state considered leaving the profession because of mental health, burnout or stress

Forty-nine percent of surveyed lawyers in New Jersey have reported moderate to high levels of burnout, a percentage that is nearly twice as high as the level of burnout in the general U.S. working population, according to a survey by a task force of the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Apr 18, 2023 9:30 AM CDT

ABA has a long history of advocating for indigent defense and public defenders

For more than a century, the ABA has advocated on issues related to indigent defense, primarily through its Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense. In fact, SCLAID (when it was operating as the Standing Committee on Legal Aid Work) stated in its 1937 annual report: “We believe that every man accused of serious crime is absolutely entitled to counsel and that, if too poor to employ one, society must furnish him that lawyer.”

Apr 1, 2023 12:20 AM CDT

Court backlogs persist in this state because of shortage of attorneys; ‘the wheels of justice depend on lawyers’

Georgia courts are having trouble addressing case backlogs because the state has a shortage of lawyers, including prosecutors and public defenders, the state’s chief justice said this week.

Mar 10, 2023 1:50 PM CST

ABA task force issues 14 guiding principles to improve plea bargaining system

An ABA task force that spent three years examining problems in plea bargaining has released recommendations that judges, lawyers, lawmakers and other stakeholders can follow to create a fairer, more transparent process.

Feb 22, 2023 9:48 AM CST

Weekly Briefs: SCOTUS nixes immigration arguments; decapitation defendant attacks her lawyer

SCOTUS drops arguments in immigration case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday removed a case from its argument calendar in which 19 states sought to keep in place an immigrant…

Feb 17, 2023 3:45 PM CST

Citing lack of lawyers, public defenders in this state ask to let law grads work before bar admission

A Florida proposal to allow court appearances for law school graduates, up to one year before bar admission, has been made by the state’s public defenders organization.

Feb 13, 2023 9:40 AM CST

Citing show-cause order against Reed Smith partner, judge allows firm to withdraw from case

A federal judge in Maryland is allowing four Reed Smith lawyers to withdraw from the representation of former Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby because of possible contempt proceedings against one of them.

Jan 30, 2023 1:39 PM CST

Hulu’s ‘Reasonable Doubt’ and keeping an appropriate distance from your clients

“‘Reasonable Doubt,’ a relatively new series that first aired in the fall on Hulu, is the next offering with high hopes of capitalizing on the public’s love for legal procedurals with a criminal focus,” writes lawyer and ABA Journal columnist Adam Banner.

Jan 9, 2023 12:28 PM CST

‘Show the Brief’: Lawyers can be better communicators by bringing visuals to their briefs

My decision to teach law more than 40 years ago has had the single biggest impact on my professional development. I made the move after working as a public defender in Seattle and as an assistant attorney general. I wanted to deepen my trial skills and thought teaching could help me.

Nov 30, 2022 9:50 AM CST

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