Assistant public defenders have it really tough in the trial courtrooms. These lawyers are typically assigned to large caseloads in which surprises can arise at any time, even when meeting the client for the first time. First meetings can be very tense, and a lawyer must possess the required skills to resolve the tension and seek a favorable solution for the client.

The National Association of Federal Defenders bestowed its W. Fred Turner Award on Leigh Skipper, Chief Federal Defender for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and his staff at the Federal Community Defender Office in Philadelphia.

An Internet meme recently passed around by public defenders shows six panels with different photos and captions. The title “Public Defender” appears in large letters above the six panels. The first panel shows a huge high-capacity monster dump truck with this caption: “What my clients think I do.” The next panel — showing a gang of gun-wielding people who seem to be kidnapping a judge — is accompanied by this caption: “What prosecutors think I do.” In the third panel one sees a wine bottle and a glass of red wine: “What judges think I do.” The fourth panel depicts jail inmates going into a prison, through a revolving gate, and coming right back out: “What voters think I do.” The fifth panel shows a clip from To Kill a Mockingbird with Atticus Finch (actor Gregory Peck) sitting in the courtroom defending the falsely accused Tom Robinson (actor Brock Peters): “What I think I do.” The final panel shows Sisyphus rolling his mythical boulder up the mountain and is accompanied by this caption: “What I really do.”¹

According to NACDL’s recent report surveying the various methods utilized by states to determine when an individual is indigent and entitled to appointed counsel, a majority of the states look to the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) to find out whether a defendant qualifies for court-appointed counsel. On the surface, it would seem that this might be an objective yardstick of indigence, but in practice it proves to be prone to manipulation in myriad ways. For example, states can drastically reduce the number of eligible defendants by pegging eligibility to an unreasonably low multiple of the FPG, resulting in a self-created constitutional escape hatch absolving states from having to provide counsel to individuals making as little as $11,670 annually. The report, Redefining Indigence: Financial Eligibility Guidelines for Assigned Counsel, is available on NACDL’s website.

A Look Ahead at 2007

Bar Association Report Calls for Statewide Defense System in Louisiana Malia Brink

New Report Condemns Indigent Defense System In New Orleans Malia Brink

Patricia Puritz Named 2004 Champion of Indigent Defense Catherine V. Beane

The NACDL Champion of Indigent Defense Award Catherine V. Beane

Class Action Lawsuit Filed in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana Catherine V. Beane

The Price of Being Indigent and Accused Lynn O. Rosenstock

Separate and Unequal Catherine Beane

The Press Is Finally Getting It Steven D. Benjamin

The Georgia Justice Project turns lives around through aggressive defense, holistic relationships Douglas Ammar

Big shoes; News briefs