Brennan Center for Justice

Most people do not think about public defenders until they are arrested. As NYU law professor Kim Taylor-Thompson puts it, "[c]ommunities themselves may not welcome defenders as partners in any effort to address broader political issues. Only in rare instances will a community even consider its local public defender as a resource when tackling problems of community justice." Defenders can become more visible and valued through community outreach.

In Las Vegas, defenders set up a card table in a local public housing complex to help local residents seal records and resolve bench warrants. In Bridgeport, Connecticut, defenders conduct "Know Your Rights" workshops for those in public housing. In Rhode Island the public defender wrote a letter to agencies and organizations serving communities of color introducing himself and inviting those groups to work together to improve the criminal justice system. In Virginia, the Charlottesville-Albemarle County Public Defender, an office created after years of lobbying by community members, established a "Citizens Advisory Committee" to formalize a connection to client communities.

• Working With the Community, For the Community: The Citizens Advisory Committee, Charlottesville, Virginia
• By-laws for Citizens Advisory Committee for the Charlottesville-Albemarle Public Defender Office
• Brennan Center Memo with Ideas for Community Outreach
• Northwest Community Law Office (Baltimore, MD): Accessible, Comprehensive Representation Located in the Community (Concept paper)
• Public Defenders In the Neighborhood: A Harlem Law Office Stresses Teamwork, Early Investigation
• Brennan Center "Staff Member Ties to Community" survey