Hurricane Katrina exposed longstanding flaws in the New Orleans criminal justice system. In the 20 years since, there has ...

From Oregon to Massachusetts, states are struggling to maintain a roster of attorneys to take on public defense cases. The ...

Just as the Republic Services strike has been called out as a threat to public health, the bar advocate work stoppage ...

Massachusetts lawmakers on Thursday passed a funding bill that includes a pay raise for public defenders as part of an effort ...

"I strongly urge the bar advocates to get back to work,” state Senate President Karen E. Spilka, D-Middlesex/Norfolk, said.

The role of public defender “is meant to ensure that no defendant is denied their right to an attorney, which is provided under the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution,” according to Justia.com.

The current appropriations marks for the federal public defender program are more than $100 million short of what they need to be to keep the system functioning.