Searching for Solutions to the Indigent Defense Crisis in the Broader Criminal Justice Reform Agenda
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-2013
Journal
Yale Law Journal
Volume
122
Issue
8
First Page
2316
Last Page
2335
Abstract
As we mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Gideon v. Wainwright decision, the nearly universal assessment is that our indigent defense system remains too under-resourced and overwhelmed to fulfill the promise of the landmark decision, and needs to be reformed. At the same time, fiscal necessity and moral outrage have prompted a historic reexamination of outdated policies that have led to an overreliance on incarceration and inefficiencies in the administration of criminal justice. This Essay argues that there are synergies between the indigent defense reform agenda and the broader criminal justice reform agenda, which places a premium on cost-effective, evidence-based, innovative ways to reduce crime and recidivism and enhance public safety. By integrating indigent defense reform into this emerging "smart-oncrime" reform movement, we not only make better criminal justice policy, we also reaffirm our fidelity to the constitutional values undergirding Gideon.
Recommended Citation
Roger Fairfax,
Searching for Solutions to the Indigent Defense Crisis in the Broader Criminal Justice Reform Agenda,
122
Yale Law Journal
2316
(2013).
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_lawrev/2096