Reform of the Indigent Defense System in New York

Fighting for Low Income Defendants in New York

New York currently has no state-wide public defender system and, as a result, its many counties handle indigent defense services in substantially different ways. People who would qualify for public defenders in one county, for example, may not qualify in the next county over. Clients, taxpayers and the general public suffer because the public defender function is not adequately financed -- when clients do not get the constitutionally adequate legal representation, taxpayers pay for unnecessary incarcerations and exonerations, and the public is not protected when innocent people languish in prison while the true wrongdoers remain free to commit new crimes.

Chief Justice Judith S. Kaye convened a commission in 2005 to study New York’s broken system. The Brennan Center testified before the commission. The commission issued its report in June and called for the creation of an Independent Public Defense Commission overseeing a state defender system. view report

To push for reform in New York State, the Brennan Center is working with the following public defenders and coalition of advocates:

Additional Resources