Preview of Member Only Content
For full access: 
or Become a Member 
Indigent Defense-- Gary Parker: 2003 Champion of Indigent Defense Award Recipient
By Stephen Bright
Gary Parker –The 2003 Champion of Indigent Defense
NACDL proudly presented the 2003 Champion of Indigent Defense Award to
Gary Parker on October 31 at the Fall Meeting in New Orleans.
Parker, a criminal defense attorney, former state senator, and
lifelong civil rights activist, has been a courageous and tireless
champion of the accused in courtrooms, the legislature, and the court of
public opinion. He played a pivotal role in obtaining passage of the
2003 Georgia Indigent Defense Act, which replaces a non-system of
representation that was left to each court in each of Georgia’s 159
counties with 49 public defender offices.
Legal career devoted to improving indigent defense
Parker is a community lawyer. He has said, “It’s my responsibility to
advance the community. If you can take an individual case and push it to
the community good, that’s your responsibility.”1 Parker carries the
same passion that fueled his activism in the 1970s into his legal work.
“I h
Want to read more?
The Champion archive is reserved for NACDL members.
NACDL members, please login to read the rest of this article.
Not a member? Join now.
Or click here to see an overview of NACDL Member benefits.
See what NACDL members say about us.
To read the current issue of The Champion in its entirety, click here.
- Media inquiries: Contact NACDL's Director of Public Affairs & Communications Ivan J. Dominguez at 202-465-7662 or idominguez@nacdl.org
- Academic Requests: Full articles of The Champion Magazine are available for academic and research purposes in the WestLaw and LexisNexis databases.