Community Oriented Defender Network
The Community Oriented Defender Network is a coalition of public defender programs united by the view that the representation of individuals charged with crimes can be made more effective by a deep engagement of defenders with the communities in which their clients live.
Community defenders recognize that an individual's contact with the criminal justice system offers a rare moment in which to address many of that individual's most critical needs, including those that lie outside the immediate realm of the legal system. Collaboration with community members, community based organizations, schools, health care providers, other service providers, and a broad range of other institutional players, can produce a variety of opportunities for clients—opportunities far less likely to become available when representation is provided exclusively on the traditional model.
Engaging the community is seldom a strictly extralegal undertaking, for it is often through established relationships in the community that defenders are best able to improve clients' case outcomes—including through resolutions that include diversion, sentence mitigation, and the avoidance of civil sanctions. Some community oriented defenders have also embraced a "holistic" model of defense services, undertaking to address their clients' full set of legal (and other) needs, including by providing "civil legal services" to resolve clients' housing disputes, family court issues, benefits claims, and a wide range of other legal concerns.
Beyond the courtroom, community oriented defenders are well positioned to tackle the systemic problems that affect the communities in which their clients live. Because they have a unique vantage point from which to witness how policy choices play out in residents' lives, they can testify as experts in state and local legislatures, help communities construct better policies, and work with elected officials to craft legislation. They can also perform an essential function by educating the media and the public about what the government's role should be with respect to the criminal justice system.
In 2008 and 2009, the Community Oriented Defender Network will be pursuing an initiative to help build the capacity of participating defenders to engage in public policy reform in their communities, particularly in the area of racial justice. The Brennan Center for Justice guides the ongoing work of the Community Oriented Defender Network, including its current initiative. Among its activities, the Brennan Center partners with defender programs to research racial disparities in police and prosecution practices, works with defender programs to achieve racial justice reform, and promotes best practices that constitute the Community Oriented Defense model.
For further information, contact:
Melanca Clark,
Director, Community Oriented Defender Project
Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
Public Defense: Leading the Way to Racial Justice
In 2008 Community Oriented Defender Network ("COD") and the American Council of Chief Defenders ("ACCD") convened a conference. Over 45 individuals from over 20 public defender offices came to New York City to attend the two-day training book-ended by a one day COD planning meeting and a one day ACCD business meeting.
This case tests the ambit of the protection afforded by the Sixth Amendment of right to counsel.
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Coalition Releases Criminal Justice Policy Roadmap
More than 20 organizations, including the Brennan Center for Justice, and individuals is pleased to announce the publication of a catalogue of key criminal justice issues and policy recommendations for the next administration and congress.
Study Exposes Lack of Standards for Appointing Defense Counsel
This report covers unfair practices in effect in states including Florida, Tennessee, Ohio, and Nebraska, and highlights best practices in others, like Massachusetts, Washington, and Vermont. People are often wrongly denied defense counsel, violating 6th Amendment.
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How Defenders Can Secure Racial Justice Policy Reform
Working through the Community Oriented Defender movement.
Public Defense: Leading the Way to Racial Justice
In 2008 Community Oriented Defender Network ("COD") and the American Council of Chief Defenders ("ACCD") convened this conference. Over 50 individuals from over 20 public defender offices came to New York City to attend the two-day training book-ended by a one day COD planning meeting and a one day ACCD business meeting.