Preview of Member Only Content
For full access: 
or Become a Member 
A Look Ahead at 2007
By Malia Brink
Read more
Indigent Defense columns.
Indigent defense reform is on the list of issues a number of
legislatures will address in the coming sessions. Below is a look across
the country at some of the reform proposals that we expect to be
introduced this year. If you know of other proposed legislation that
affects indigent defense, be sure to let us know about it.
Federal
With the Democrats coming in as the majority, Senator Dick Durbin
(D-Ill.) is expected to revive a bill that would grant student loan
relief to public defenders and prosecutors. The Prosecutors and
Defenders Incentive Act, as currently drafted, would provide federal
funds to pay up to $10,000 a year of the law school loans of public
sector lawyers working in criminal justice.
Alabama
A bill to reinstate overhead payments to court-appointed counsel is
expected. Lawyers used to receive hourly overhead payments in addition
to rate pay, after an Alabama Supreme Court decision ruled that such
payments were required. The payments stopped, 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.