"Gideon at 60: A Snapshot of State Public Defense Systems and Paths to System Reform"

The title of this post is the title of this lengthy and detailed new report, authored by Marea Beeman and Claire Buetow, which was produced for the the National Institute of Justice in collaboration with the Justice Department’s Office for Access to Justice.  This NIJ webpage provides the report's executive summary, and here is how that summary starts:

In 1963, the Supreme Court decided in Gideon v. Wainwright that, for criminal cases to be fair, defense lawyers are “necessities, not luxuries.”  States must ensure that people who cannot afford defense lawyers are provided with them at government expense.  The Court has clarified Gideon’s scope over time but has left decisions about the administration, funding, and oversight of public defense to the states, which have created a variety of models.

In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Access to Justice (ATJ), the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) sponsored this report on contemporary public defense system models in recognition of the 60th anniversary of Gideon.  The report presents findings from a national scan of the models currently used for adult, trial-level, criminal cases in U.S. state, local, and tribal jurisdictions.  Key research questions were to identify the prevalence of different models, factors contributing to how jurisdictions select different models, and variations in case and other outcomes associated with each model.  Findings are based on (1) a review and synthesis of publicly available materials, including research reports, law review articles, government agency websites, and news accounts, and (2) interviews with 17 subject matter experts, including academics, researchers, civil rights advocates, a representative of people directly impacted by the criminal legal system, indigent defense commission staff and members, public defense program staff, a current court administrator, a former prosecutor, a former judge, and a former legislator (some stakeholders reflect multiple roles).

The researchers find that 60 years on, whether Gideon has been fulfilled is, at best, an open question in most state and local criminal courts.