Indigent Defense Publications
Since the 1970s, the U.S. Department of Justice has both funded and authored a variety of studies and reports relevant to the provision of indigent defense services. Where possible, links to the reports have been included and more will come on line in the coming months. As we work to make this a comprehensive bibliography of indigent defense materials authored or funded by the Department, please contact the Access to Justice Initiative at 202-514-5312 about any appropriate publications that may be missing from this list.
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Title | Author | Year | Funded By | Description |
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State Government Indigent Defense Expenditures, FY 2008–2012 (NCJ 246684) | Erinn Herberman Ph.D. and Tracey Kyckelhahn, Ph.D., BJS Statisticians | 2014 | Bureau of Justice Statistics (OJP) |
Provides data on state government indigent defense expenditures as well as trends in spending and comparisons with total state government judicial-legal expenditures. The report uses administrative data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Government Finance Survey and is a companion report to the Census Bureau's report, Indigent Defense Services in the United States: A Report Prepared for the Bureau of Justice Statistics. |
Indigent Defense Services in the United States, FY 2008-2012 (NCJ 246683) | Stephen D. Owens, Elizabeth Accetta, Jennifer J. Charles, and Samantha E. Shoemaker, U.S. Census Bureau | 2014 | Bureau of Justice Statistics (OJP) |
This report was prepared for BJS by the U.S. Census Bureau. It describes the indigent defense system for each state and the District of Columbia, including information on administration, methods of operation, and funding. It provides both direct and intergovernmental indigent defense expenditures of state governments for fiscal years 2008 through 2012, and presents some local government expenditures aggregated at the state level. The report uses administrative data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Government Finance Survey and available data from state government budget and appropriation documents. |
Title: Indigent Defense: DOJ Could Increase Awareness of Eligible Funding and Better Determine the Extent to Which Funds Help Support This Purpose (NCJ 238757) | The Government Accountability Office | 2012 | Government Accountability Office |
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The Anatomy of Discretion: An Analysis of Prosecutorial Decision Making – Technical Report(NCJ 240334) | Bruce Frederick (Vera Institute of Justice) and Don Stemen (Loyola University Chicago) | 2012 | National Institute of Justice (OJP) |
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Predicting Erroneous Convictions: A Social Science Approach to Miscarriages of Justice (NCJ 241389) | Jon B. Gould (American University), Julia Carrano (American University), Richard Leo (University of San Francisco School of Law), Joseph Young (American University) | 2012 | National Institute of Justice (OJP) |
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Measuring the Effect of Defense Counsel on Homicide Case Outcomes (241158) | James M. Anderson; Paul Heaton | 2012 | National Institute of Justice (OJP) |
This study examined the impact of randomly assigned public defenders and court-appointed private attorneys in the outcome of criminal cases in Philadelphia, PA. The authors of this report used a sample dataset of 3,412 defendants charged with murder between 1994 and 2005. The study shows that compared to appointed counsel, public defenders reduce their client’s murder conviction rate by 19%, lowered the probability that their clients would receive a life sentence by 62%, and reduced overall expected time served in prison by 24. |
International Perspectives on Indigent Defense (NCJ 236022) | Maha Jweied and Miranda Jolicoeur (U.S. Department of Justice, Access to Justice Initiative and National Institute of Justice) | 2011 | National Institute of Justice (OJP) |
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Who’s Better at Defending Criminals? Does Type of Defense Attorney Matter in Terms of Producing Favorable Case Outcomes | Thomas H. Cohen | 2011 | Bureau of Justice Statistics (OJP) |
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International Perspectives on Indigent Defense (NCJ 236022) | Maha Jweied and Miranda Jolicoeur (U.S. Department of Justice, Access to Justice Initiative and National Institute of Justice) | 2011 | Office for Access to Justice |
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Working Paper: How Much Difference Does the Lawyer Make? The Effect of Defense Counsel on Murder Case Outcomes | James M. Anderson and Paul Heaton (RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment) | 2011 | National Institute of Justice (OJP) |
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BJS Selected Findings: Census of Public Defender Offices, 2007: Public Defender Offices, 2007 – Statistical Tables (Revised) (NCJ 228538) | Lynn Langton and Donald J. Farole, Jr. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics) | 2010 | Bureau of Justice Statistics (OJP) |
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BJS Special Report: Census of Public Defender Offices, 2007: County-based and Local Public Defender Offices, 2007 (NCJ 231175) | Lynn Langton and Donald J. Farole, Jr. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics) | 2010 | Bureau of Justice Statistics (OJP) |
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BJS Special Report: Census of Public Defender Offices, 2007: State Public Defender Programs, 2007 (NCJ 22829) | Lynn Langton and Donald J. Farole, Jr. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics) | 2010 | Bureau of Justice Statistics (OJP) |
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Public Defense Reform Since Gideon: Improving the Administration of Justice By Building On Our Successes and Learning From Our Failures - A Public Defense Leadership Focus Group (NCJ 230794) | U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance; National Legal Aid & Defender Association; Bureau of Justice Assistance Criminal Courts Technical Assistance Project at American University | 2008 | Bureau of Justice Assistance (OJP) |
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North Carolina: An Assessment of Access to Counsel and Quality of Representation in Delinquency Proceedings (NCJ 204538) | Lynn Grindall and Patricia Puritz (American Bar Association and the Southern Juvenile Justice Center in collaboration with National Juvenile Defender Center and the North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services) | 2003 | Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) |
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The Implementation and Impact of Indigent Defense Standards (NCJ 205023) | Scott Wallace and David Carroll (National Legal Aid & Defender Association) | 2003 | National Institute of Justice (OJP) |
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Efficiency, Timeliness, and Quality: A New Perspective from Nine State Criminal Trial Courts (NCJ 178403) | Brian J. Ostrom and Roger A. Hanson (National Center for State Courts) | 2003 | National Institute of Justice (OJP) |
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The Executive Session on Public Defense, Bulletin #3: Cultural Revolution: Transforming the Public Defender’s Office (NCJ 193773) | Robin Steinberg and David Feige (Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government) | 2002 | Bureau of Justice Assistance (OJP) |
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Final Report of the National Defender Leadership Project | Vera Institute of Justice | 2001 | Bureau of Justice Assistance (OJP) |
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BJS Special report: National Survey of Indigent Defense Systems, 1999: State-Funded Indigent Defense Services, 1999 (NCJ 188464) | Carol J. DeFrances (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics) | 2001 | Bureau of Justice Statistics (OJP) |
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U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance and American Bar Association, Bar Information Program State Commissions Project: The Year in Review (The Spangenberg Report, Volume VI, Issue 3, Feb. 2001) | David J. Carroll (The Spangenberg Group) | 2001 | Bureau of Justice Assistance (OJP) |
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BJA Monograph, Indigent Defense Series #4: Keeping Defender Workloads Manageable (NCJ 185632) | The Spangenberg Group | 2001 | Bureau of Justice Assistance (OJP) |
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BJA Bulletin: The Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office Juvenile Sentencing Advocacy Project (NCJ 187158) | Kelly D. Johnson (Institute on Crime, Justice and Corrections at The George Washington University) | 2001 | Bureau of Justice Assistance (OJP) |
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The Executive Session on Public Defense, Bulletin #1: Bolder Management for Public Defense: Leadership in Three Dimensions (NCJ 187768) | Cait Clarke and Christopher Stone (Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government) | 2001 | Bureau of Justice Assistance (OJP) |
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BJA Bulletin: Criminal Courts Technical Assistance Project (NCJ 185780) | Joseph A. Trotter (Criminal Courts Technical Assistance Project, American University) | 2001 | Bureau of Justice Assistance (OJP) |
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