and Attorney Workload Standards

The Sixth Amendment's promise that every person accused of a crime is entitled to counsel is a hollow one when the attorney appointed lacks the time and resources to provide meaningful representation. In order to determine whether defenders in Rhode Island are facing a caseload crisis, NACDL, the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants (ABA SCLAID), and the accounting firm of BlumShapiro undertook an assessment of the Rhode Island Public Defender system ("RIPD"). [Released November 2017]

On April 6 and 7, 2017, NACDL, the Foundation for Criminal Justice, the Monroe Freedman Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics at Hofstra University’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law, the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, the Center for Court Innovation, and the State of New York Unified Court System convened a conference designed to explore the impediments to and reforms needed to ensure effective justice in all stages of the criminal process, with a particular focus on the judicial role in high-volume misdemeanor courts. [Released December 2017]

For more than a year, NACDL has examined Maine’s public defense system, providing technical assistance to MCILS under a grant from the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance. ... As the nation’s preeminent criminal defense bar, NACDL is keenly interested in ensuring public defense providers have caseloads that are reasonable and allow them to fulfill their legal, ethical, and constitutional obligations.

Brief of Amici Curiae National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association in Support of Petition of State Ex Rel. Baur for Writ of Superintending Control.

Argument: The excessive caseloads imposed on public defenders in Lea County raise problems of constitutional proportions. Because of the essential part that lawyers play in the fair administration of justice, the right to counsel attaches as soon as criminal proceedings are initiated and applies at any subsequence “critical stage” of the proceedings. The Sixth Amendment may be violated not only where counsel is entirely absent as such a critical stage, but also where counsel is appointed under circumstances that make it impossible for counsel to provide true effective assistance. Thus, excessive workloads may have the direct effect of depriving indigent criminal defendants of their rights under the U.S. Constitution. New Mexico is by no means the only state facing such a crisis in its treatment of indigent criminal defendants. New Mexico is not the only state facing such a crisis and other states have taken up claims similar to those raised by Petitioner here. Lack of funding for public defense and overwhelming caseloads have converged to create a constitutional crisis in which the citizens of New Mexico often receive the right to counsel in name only. This Court has the ability to impose administrative remedies that may help to address the problems outlined in the petition.

President John Wesley Hall's statement to the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security regarding public defense representation in criminal cases in Michigan and elsewhere.

President John Wesley Hall's statement to the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security regarding issues in public defense representation, particularly for misdemeanor charges.

Brief Amicus Curiae of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Support of Appellants. 

Argument: Appellants have stated a claim for constructive denial of counsel because the allegations of the amendment complaint demonstrate that there are systemic deficiencies in the Luzerne County office of the Public Defender that create an imminent and unacceptable risk that appellants’ right to counsel will be violated in ways that cannot be cured by post-conviction review. The amended complaint describes systemic violations of Kuren’s and Allabaugh’s right to counsel under the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions. Violations of the right to effective assistance of counsel at critical stages of the adversarial process prior to trial cannot be remedied by post-conviction review, making prospective injunctive relief appropriate. The problems confronting indigent defense services are systemic and extend throughout the commonwealth and the nation.

Brief of Amici Curiae National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and Idaho Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Argument: The violations alleged by the plaintiffs cause ongoing and cognizable harm. The district court applied the wrong legal framework to the plaintiffs' claims. A criminal defendant has a fundamental right to counsel at any "critical stage" of the proceedings against him. The Sixth Amendment can also be violated if the attorney's performance fails to meet constitutional standards. Federal and state courts addressing claims for prospective relief, like the plaintiffs' claims here, have rejected application of the Strickland standard.

NACDL is committed to ensuring quality representation for all accused individuals and has set out to help reform inadequate state and local indigent defense systems through technical assistance, public education, advocacy, and litigation.  Available below are materials from the Department of Justice and other organizations discussing Right to Counsel standards and guidelines.