We are always glad to talk about the ways in which right to counsel services are being provided and how America can live up to its constitutional promise. If you’d like to have us speak to your organization, please contact our staff.
Our 2023 Speaking Engagements
May 11th – Oregon Legislature, Senate Rules Committee (Salem, Oregon – by videoconference). Deputy Director Jon Mosher participates in a formal information session on proposed indigent defense system reforms at the invitation of the Committee Chair. Mosher’s testifies on the absence of state accountability and the financial conflicts of interest caused by Oregon’s continued use of flat fee contracting for direct services.
Mar. 31st – Unified Judicial System’s Task Force to Examine the Delivery of Indigent Defense (Pierre, South Dakota). Executive Director David Carroll and Senior Program Manager Aditi Goel present to the Task Force on the history of the right to counsel in America, 6AC’s evaluation methodology, and a comparison of South Dakota’s indigent system to other states.
Mar. 30th – Oregon Legislature, Senate Judiciary Committee (Salem, Oregon). Deputy Director Jon Mosher testifies at the invitation of the committee chair in a formal hearing on proposed indigent defense system reforms, including: structural independence; increased financial and qualitative oversight of direct services; and abolishing flat-fee contracting in favor of creating staff government public defender positions.
Mar. 28th – Illinois Judicial Conference Criminal Indigent Defense Taskforce (by videoconference). Deputy Director Jon Mosher and Senior Program Manager Aditi Goel present to the Task Force on 6AC’s evaluation of Illinois, public defender independence, and state accountability.
Mar. 23rd – Harris County, Celebration of the 60th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright (Houston, Texas, by videoconference). Executive Director David Carroll participates in a panel discussion to talk about indigent defense reform. Other panelists include: Alex Bunin, Chief Public Defender in Harris County; The Honorable Judge Keith P. Ellison, Southern District of Texas; Allison Mathis, Supervising Attorney for Neighborhood Defender Services; and Brandon Ball, Harris County Public Defender Office.
Mar. 20th – New Mexico Law Offices of the Public Defender, Gideon Day 2023 Webinar (by videoconference). Deputy Director Jon Mosher presents “Gideon at 60: A national perspective on the Status of the Right to Counsel,” comparing New Mexico’s recent and ongoing reform efforts to trends observed from 6AC studies of other states’ systems.
Mar. 2nd – United States Department of Justice, Office for Access to Justice, National Public Defense Day Tour (Miami, Florida). Executive Director David Carroll presents “Early Appointment of Counsel at Gideon’s 60th Anniversary,” as the DOJ launch a cross-country tour in honor of the 60th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright called “Six Stops for the Sixth Amendment” elevating the importance of public defense services. The event featured the Deputy Attorney General, Lisa Monaco, and Director of the Office for Access to Justice, Rachel Rossi.
Feb. 23rd – Oregon Public Defense Services Commission, Annual Public Defense Providers Summit (by videoconference). Deputy Director Jon Mosher presents the right to counsel in Oregon, and the need for legislative reforms to state’s indigent defense system to correct deficiencies identified in 6AC’s statewide evaluation.
Feb. 8th – New York University School of Law (New York, New York). Program Manager Rachael Liebert speaks to first-year law students on the important role critical indigent defense systems play in the criminal justice system and the role of defense counsel in plea bargaining.
Jan. 11th – University of Connecticut School of Law (Hartford, Connecticut). Program Manager Rachael Liebert speaks to first-year law students on the critical role strong indigent defense systems play in the criminal justice system and the role of defense counsel in plea bargaining.
Our 2022 Speaking Engagements
Dec. 20th – Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (Lansing, Michigan, by videoconference). Deputy Director Jon Mosher presents on statewide structural issues and observations from 6AC’s evaluation in Oakland County (Pontiac), and necessary state legislative and policy reforms.
Nov. 16th – Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management. Senior Program Manager Aditi Goel presents at the program’s The Myths of Public Safety: Pretrial speaker series – organized by Program Director Katy Naples-Mitchell and Professor Sandra Susan Smith – on 6AC’s research in various jurisdictions on the early appointment of counsel and systemic pressures that indigent people face to waive their right to counsel.
Sept. 2nd – California Revision of the Penal Code (by videoconference). Senior Program Manager Aditi Goel presents on a panel about the early appointment of counsel and observations from 6AC’s evaluation in Santa Cruz, CA. Also as panelists were Professor Paul Heaton at the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at UPenn Law, Office of the State Public Defender Indigent Defense Improvement Division Executive Director Galit Lipa, and Associate Judge Juliet J. McKenna of the D.C. Superior Court.
Aug. 8th – Ohio State Bar Association’s Future of Public Defense Taskforce (by videoconference). Executive Director David Carroll and Senior Program Manager Aditi Goel present to the subcommittee on the history of the right to counsel in America, 6AC’s evaluation methodology, and a comparison of Ohio’s indigent system to other states, including Michigan, Massachusetts, and Mississippi.
Mar. 2nd – University of Virginia School of Law (Charlottesville, Virginia – by videoconference): Program Manager Aditi Goel speaks as a panelist to law students at UVA Law on the necessary role indigent defense plays in strengthening our nation’s criminal justice system, 6AC’s unique approach to reform work, and 6AC’s recent successful reform efforts. Panelists include Alison Mollman, Staff Attorney, Equal Justice Initiative.
Mar. 2nd – Northwestern University Law School (Chicago, Illinois – by videoconference). Program Manager Aditi Goel and Deputy Director Jon Mosher present to Northwestern University Law School, Bluhm Legal Clinic regarding potential solutions for Illinois’ right to counsel deficiencies, national models, and pitfalls to avoid.
Mar. 1st – Idaho Judiciary Rules & Administration Committee (Boise, Idaho – by videoconference) Executive Director David Carroll testifies during a formal hearing on Public Defender Commission Rules. Carroll speaks on the history of indigent defense reform in Idaho and the reasonableness of proposed rules at the invitation of the Committee Chair.
Feb. 15th – Northwestern University Law School (Chicago, Illinois – by videoconference). Program Manager Aditi Goel and Deputy Director Jon Mosher present to Northwestern University Law School, Bluhm Legal Clinic regarding 6AC’s Illinois study, findings and recommendations.
Feb. 14th – Idaho Senate Judiciary Committee (Boise, Idaho – by videoconference) Executive Director David Carroll testifies during a formal hearing on Public Defender Commission Rules. Carroll speaks on the history of indigent defense reform in Idaho and the reasonableness of proposed rules at the invitation of the Committee Chair.
Jan. 12th – Public Defenseless Podcast (nationally available) Executive Director David Carroll explains how he got into public defense, America’s indigent defense deficiencies, and solutions to be implemented. Particular emphasis is made on actual denial of counsel in misdemeanor courts.
Our 2021 Speaking Engagements
Nov. 18th – US-Asia Law Institute, New York University, School of Law & China University of Political Science and Law (Beijing, China – by videoconference): Executive Director David Carroll and Deputy Director Jon Mosher present in “Effective Defense Representation in Death Penalty Trials in the United States,” a panel exploring how death penalty public defense services are structured and funded in the United States and China. Participants include: Hongyao Wu, Professor of Law, Dean of National Institute of Legal Aid, China University of Political Science and Law; Fan Chongyi, Honorary President of the National Academy of Law, China University of Political Science and Law, and Honorary President, Professor, and Doctoral Supervisor of the Institute of litigation law of China University of Political Science and Law; Miriam Conrad, former Federal Defender for the Districts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island; and Ira Belkin, Senior Research Fellow, New York University, School of Law & China University of Political Science and Law.
Oct. 29th – Illinois Public Defender Association, Fall 2021 Seminar (by videoconference): Executive Director David Carroll, Deputy Director Jon Mosher, and Program Manager Aditi Goel present the findings and recommendations from The Right to Counsel in Illinois: Evaluation of Trial-level Public Defense Representation. There are two overarching reasons why the State of Illinois is defaulting on its constitutional right to counsel obligations. First, the state requires counties and courts to provide and predominantly fund indigent defense systems in a way that bakes in governmental interference with the right to counsel. Second, as one of only seven states with no state-level mechanism to oversee any aspect of trial-level right to counsel services, Illinois lacks information about every aspect of the varied indigent defense systems implemented by the county governments and courts in their efforts to fulfill the Sixth Amendment right to counsel responsibilities that the state has delegated to them.
June 25th – Maine State Bar Association, Summer Meeting (Portland, Maine – by videoconference): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll participates in a panel discussion on “Is There A Role for a Public Defender in Maine?” Panelists include: Representative Thom Harnett, Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services (MCILS) Member, Robert Cummins, MCILS Interim Director, Justin Andrus; Kennebec County District Attorney, Maeghen Maloney; and, Kennebec County Superior Court Judge, Michaela Murphy.
June 8th – Criminal Justice Reform/Americans For Prosperity, State Directors Meeting (Arlington, Virginia – by videoconference): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll and Deputy Director, Jon Mosher, presents “Liberty v. Tyranny: The Right to Counsel in America.” The presentation discusses the history of the right to counsel in America, how states are required to implement the Sixth Amendment, the 6AC evaluation process, and why conservatives are leading the indigent defense reform movement.
June 7th – Pennsylvania Public Defender Association, Annual Meeting (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – by videoconference): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll and Senior Program Associate, Michael Tartaglia, presents “Liberty v. Tyranny: The Right to Counsel in America.” The presentation discusses the history of the right to counsel in America, the 6AC evaluation process, and concerns over how the right to counsel is delivered in Pennsylvania.
May 26th – Illinois Supreme Court (Springfield, Illinois – by videoconference): 6AC’s Deputy Director, Jon Mosher, and Program Manager, Aditi Goel present the findings and recommendations from The Right to Counsel in Illinois: Evaluation of Trial-level Public Defense Representation. There are two overarching reasons why the State of Illinois is defaulting on its constitutional right to counsel obligations. First, the state requires counties and courts to provide and predominantly fund indigent defense systems in a way that bakes in governmental interference with the right to counsel. Second, as one of only seven states with no state-level mechanism to oversee any aspect of trial-level right to counsel services, Illinois lacks information about every aspect of the varied indigent defense systems implemented by the county governments and courts in their efforts to fulfill the Sixth Amendment right to counsel responsibilities that the state has delegated to them.
April 30th – Illinois Supreme Court, Pre-Trial Practices Implementation Committee (Springfield, Illinois – by videoconference): 6AC’s Deputy Director Jon Mosher and Program Manager Aditi Goel present the findings and recommendations from The Right to Counsel in Illinois: Evaluation of Trial-level Public Defense Representation. There are two overarching reasons why the State of Illinois is defaulting on its constitutional right to counsel obligations. First, the state requires counties and courts to provide and predominantly fund indigent defense systems in a way that bakes in governmental interference with the right to counsel. Second, as one of only seven states with no state-level mechanism to oversee any aspect of trial-level right to counsel services, Illinois lacks information about every aspect of the varied indigent defense systems implemented by the county governments and courts in their efforts to fulfill the Sixth Amendment right to counsel responsibilities that the state has delegated to them.
April 15th – US-Asia Law Institute, New York University, School of Law & China University of Political Science and Law (Beijing, China – by videoconference): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll participates in “Dialogue on Chinese Legal Aid,” a panel exploring differences and commonalities among how public defense services are structured and funded in the United States and China. Participants include: Hongyao Wu, Professor of Law, Dean of National Institute of Legal Aid, China University of Political Science and Law; Fan Chongyi, Honorary President of the National Academy of Law, China University of Political Science and Law, and Honorary President, Professor, and Doctoral Supervisor of the Institute of litigation law of China University of Political Science and Law; Alice L. Fontier, Managing Director, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem; David Patton, Executive Director and Attorney-in-Chief of the Federal Defenders of New York; and, Ira Belkin, Senior Research Fellow, New York University, School of Law & China University of Political Science and Law.
April 9th – North Carolina Indigent Defense Services Commission (Durham, NC – by videoconference): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll presents “Tyranny v. Liberty: The Right to Counsel in America.” The presentation touches upon: the history of the right to counsel in America; how to evaluate the strength of indigent defense systems; and raises concerns about North Carolina’s public defense system based upon statutory review. Also on the program is Chief Justice Paul Newby.
February 26th – University of Virginia School of Law (Charlottesville, VA – by videoconference): 6AC’s Program Manager Aditi Goel speaks as a panelist to law students at UVA Law on the state of indigent defense across the nation, 6AC’s success in indigent defense reform throughout the country, and the importance of strengthening indigent defense systems in order to advance criminal justice reform. Also as a panelist is Charlie Gerstein, Senior Attorney, Civil Rights Corps.
February 17th – Maine Legislature, Judiciary Committee (Augusta, ME – participating via Zoom): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll participates to discuss on-going reform efforts in Maine, including: the creation of a statewide appellate defender office; the creation of a trial-level public defender offices in Kennebec County (Augusta); increased assigned counsel compensation rates (up from $60/hour to $80/hour); and, the need to expand staff of the Maine Commission on Indigent Legals Services to ensure adequate financial and quality representation oversight.
January 12th – Afghanistan Legal Aid High Commission (Kabul, Afghanistan – participating via Zoom): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll and Deputy Director Jon Mosher present “Oversight & Independence: Best Practices in the Delivery of Afghanistan’s Legal Aid Services.” The Legal Aid High Commission is housed in the Ministry of Justice and oversees all indigent defense services throughout the country. For years, the 6AC resisted operating in the international realm under the position that people from the U.S. should not purport themselves to be experts abroad unless and until we have our addressed our own domestic challenges. Now the 6AC understands that other countries can just as readily learn from our mistakes as from our best practices. “Oversight” and “independence” are the two concepts all public defense systems struggle to provide. That is, defense providers must be “independent” to act in the stated interests of their clients, but government also must provide “oversight” to ensure that those defender services are both effective and provided efficiently. The two concepts of “oversight” and “independence” are often in conflict with one another. Finding harmony between those necessary components will make your justice system better. The presentation offers examples, both good and bad, from various of the 50 states comprising the USA in hopes of assisting the Legal Aid High Commission efforts to provide effective representation.
Our 2020 Speaking Engagements
December 15th — American Bar Association (National Webinar): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll presents on state-level indigent defense funding at “Preparing for 2021 and Beyond: The Outlook for Public Interest Lawyers and Advocacy. The ABA webinar focuses on civil and criminal systemic issues of race, rights, and access to justice. He is joined on the panel with: Patricia Lee Refo, ABA President; Ronald S. Flagg, Legal Services Corporation President; Justice Adrienne Nelson, Oregon Supreme Court; April Faith-Slaker, Associate Director of Research Innovations, Access to Justice Lab, Harvard Law School; Jaime Hawk, Legal Strategy Director, ACLU of Washington; Radhika Singh, Chief, Civil Legal Services, National Legal Aid & Defender Association; and Brendon Woods, Public Defender of Alameda County.
November 9th — Maine Legislature, Government Oversight Committee (Augusta, ME – participating via Zoom): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll participates to discuss the Maine Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA) report on the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services. The OPEGA report independently verified the lack of quality and financial oversight of indigent defense services in the state.
November 4th — Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services (Augusta, ME – participating via Zoom): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll participates to discuss on-going reform efforts in Maine.
September 18th – Illinois Supreme Court, Pretrial Implementation Task Force (Chicago, IL – participating via Zoom): 6AC’s deputy director Jon Mosher presented to the task force formally overseeing our statewide evaluation of right to counsel services in Illinois. During the presentation, Jon shared some of 6AC’s key findings from our study with examples from site work to demonstrate specific concepts. In sum, 6AC established that Illinois has two overarching deficiencies when it comes to the right to counsel: (1) government interference in the delivery of public defense services, which manifests itself in ways that can vary from county to county; and (2) the state of Illinois has no mechanism for providing oversight of right to counsel services at the county level.
July 24th — Maine Legislature, Judiciary Committee work group (Augusta, ME – participating via Zoom): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll participates to discuss on-going reform efforts in Maine.
July 10th – Illinois Council of Chief Defenders (participating via Zoom): 6AC’s deputy director Jon Mosher presented to a membership association of appointed county public defenders from across the state of Illinois, at which he provided an overview of our statewide evaluation of right to counsel services in Illinois. The presentation highlighted the Council’s primary concerns of excessive caseload, budget, and independence issues.
March 11th — Maine Legislature, Judiciary Committee (Augusta, ME): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll participates to discuss on-going reform efforts in Maine, including the creation of a statewide appellate defender office and trial-level public defender offices in Cumberland (Portland), Kennebec (Augusta), and Penobscot (Bangor) counties.
February 7th — National Conference of State Legislatures (Fort Meyers, FL): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll presents “Liberty v. Tyranny: The State of America’s Constitutional Right to Counsel” at NCSL’s Advancing Justice 2020 conference. He is joined on the panel with: J.J. Gentry, South Carolina Ethics Lawyer; Senator Gerald Malloy, South Carolina; and, Julie Wassen, author, Right on Crime.
Our 2019 Speaking Engagements
November 8th — Alaska Bar Association (Anchorage, Alaska): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll and Deputy Director Jon Mosher present “Watching the Watchmen: Independence, the Indigent, and the Public Defender Agency at Fifty,” discussing the history of the right to counsel and the state’s Fourteenth Amendment obligation to provide the Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel.
June 12th — Texas Panhandle criminal justice stakeholders’ meeting (Amarillo, Texas): 6AC’s Deputy Director Jon Mosher and Executive Director David Carroll present preliminary findings from 6AC’s evaluation of trial level indigent defense services in Armstrong and Potter counties.
June 4th — Wyoming Legislature, Joint Judiciary Committee (Gillette, Wyoming): 6AC’s Deputy Director Jon Mosher testifies on representation of misdemeanor defendants and how U.S. Supreme Court case law requires the state to ensure that indigent defendants receive qualified counsel who have sufficient time to provide effective assistance of counsel.
April 4th — Maine Joint Committee on the Judiciary (Augusta, Maine): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll presents the final findings and recommendations from the 6AC’s evaluation of public defense services provided by the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services in the state trial courts.
March 27th — New Hampshire House and Senate Judiciary Committees (Concord, New Hampshire): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll discusses the history of the right to counsel and the states’ Fourteenth Amendment obligation to provide effective Sixth Amendment right to counsel services.
March 19th — Boston University School of Law (Boston, Massachusetts): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll discusses the ways in which deficiencies in indigent defense systems contribute to wrongful convictions. Special emphasis is placed on undue political and judicial interference with the independence of the defense function and on the use of United States v. Cronic to get at how systemic deficiencies prevent even the best lawyers from providing constitutionally effective right to counsel services.
January 29th — Oregon Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Salem, Oregon): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll and Deputy Director Jon Mosher present the findings and recommendations from 6AC’s evaluation of public defense services provided by the Public Defense Services Commission and the Office of Public Defense Services in Oregon’s state trial courts and discuss recommendations moving forward.
January 18th — Supreme Court Commission on Pretrial Practices (Chicago, Illinois): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll and Deputy Director Jon Mosher present an overview of the 6AC’s upcoming statewide evaluation of adult trial level indigent defense services, funded through a grant of the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance.
Our 2018 Speaking Engagements
December 14th — Joint Legislative Committee on the Judiciary (Salem, Oregon): 6AC’s Deputy Director Jon Mosher presents the final findings and recommendations, for response and comment, from 6AC’s evaluation of public defense services provided by the Public Defense Services Commission and the Office of Public Defense Services in Oregon’s state trial courts.
December 13th — Oregon Advisory Committee and Public Defense Services Commission (Salem, Oregon): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll and Deputy Director Jon Mosher present the final findings and recommendations, for response and comment, from 6AC’s evaluation of public defense services provided by the Public Defense Services Commission and the Office of Public Defense Services in Oregon’s state trial courts.
December 7th — Fair and Just Prosecution Annual Convening (Houston, Texas): 6AC’s Executive Director, along with co-panelist Lisa Foster who is the Director of the Fines and Fees Justice Center, discusses deficiencies in indigent defense systems and what prosecutors can do to improve the right to counsel, focusing on the actual denial of counsel that occurs when prosecutors enter into plea negotiations with unrepresented defendants.
November 29th — Southern Methodist University School of Law, Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center, Rural Criminal Justice Summit (Dallas, Texas): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll moderates a panel presentation on “Resource Challenges in Treatment, Counseling and Services Provision.” He is joined on the panel by: Francis Abbott, Executive Director of the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Parole; Betty Taylor, Chief of Police for Winfield, Missouri; and Natassia Walsh, Program Manager for the National Association of Counties. The panelists discuss the challenges in rural America of providing victims, family members, defendants, detainees, and returning citizens with services such as medical, mental health & substance abuse treatment, educational support, and employment counseling. In addition to moderating the panel, Carroll discusses the difficulties of providing effective assistance of counsel in rural America.
November 28th — Texas Panhandle criminal justice stakeholders’ meeting (Amarillo, Texas): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll and Deputy Director Jon Mosher explain the history of the right to counsel in America, the 6AC’s philosophy for ensuring the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, and 6AC’s method of evaluating indigent defense systems.
September 27th — Oregon Advisory Committee (Salem, Oregon): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll and Deputy Director Jon Mosher present preliminary findings from 6AC’s evaluation of public defense services provided by the Public Defense Services Commission and the Office of Public Defense Services in Oregon’s state trial courts.
September 19th — Indiana Task Force on Public Defense (Indianapolis, Indiana): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll provides technical assistance expertise to the Task Force in its final meeting as it advances its agenda for the 2019 legislative session, including seeking reimbursement of counties for misdemeanor representation, a statewide appellate defender, and increased staffing for the Indiana Public Defender Commission.
August 17th — Nevada Right to Counsel Commission (Carson City, Nevada): 6AC’s Executive Director presents 6AC’s final findings and recommendations resulting from the 6AC’s assessment of adult indigent defense services in rural Nevada. 6AC’s report “The Right to Counsel in Rural Nevada – Evaluation of Indigent Defense Services” explains for the first time how indigent defense services are provided in every trial level court in the state outside of Clark County (Las Vegas) and Washoe County (Reno), collectively referred to in Nevada as the “rural counties.”
June 28th — Nevada Right to Counsel Commission (Carson City, Nevada): 6AC’s Executive Director presents 6AC’s preliminary findings and recommendations from the 6AC’s assessment of adult indigent defense services in rural Nevada.
June 6th — Oasis Academy’s Project Citizen class (Fallon, Nevada): The National Project Citizen initiative encourages high school students to get involved to help solve local issues. For its participation in that initiative, the Oasis Academy chose the topic of reform of indigent defense services in Nevada. 6AC’s Executive Director meets with the students to discuss their findings that the State of Nevada does not ensure constitutionally effective assistance of counsel.
May 23rd — Oregon Advisory Committee (Salem, Oregon): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll and Deputy Director Jon Mosher present the preliminary findings from 6AC’s evaluation of public defense services provided by the Public Defense Services Commission and the Office of Public Defense Services in Oregon’s trial level state courts.
April 20th — Indiana Task Force on Public Defense (Indianapolis, Indiana): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll discusses various ways that states have enforced indigent defense standards. Also providing information to the Task Force are: William Leahy, Director of the New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services; and the Honorable Thomas Boyd, District Court Judge for Michigan’s 55th Judicial District in Ingham County (Lansing) and member of the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission.
April 19th — Michigan Indigent Defense Commission and Wayne County Commission (Detroit, Michigan): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll presents the findings from the 6AC’s evaluation of the public defender office in Wayne County (Detroit), Michigan.
April 10th — Mississippi Public Defender Task Force (Jackson, Mississippi): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll discusses how best to overcome the systemic deficiencies identified in the 6AC’s statewide evaluation of Mississippi’s adult felony trial level indigent defense services.
March 29th — Nevada Right to Counsel Commission (Carson City, Nevada): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll presents an update on the status of the 6AC’s assessment of adult indigent defense services in rural Nevada.
March 27th — Boston University School of Law (Boston, Massachusetts): 6AC’s Executive Director David Carroll and Counsel Mike Tartaglia discuss the ways in which deficiencies in indigent defense systems contribute to wrongful convictions. Special emphasis is placed on undue political and judicial interference with the independence of the defense function and on the use of United States v. Cronic to get at how systemic deficiencies prevent even the best lawyers from providing constitutionally effective right to counsel services.
March 26th — Pennsylvania Senate (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania): At the invitation of Senator Stewart Greenleaf, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, 6AC Executive Director David Carroll testifies at a joint hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary Committee regarding funding of indigent defense representation, as the Senators consider a wide array of criminal justice reform issues.
February 20th — Nevada Right to Counsel Commission (Las Vegas, Nevada): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll updates the commission on the on-going evaluation of indigent defense representation in rural Nevada. As part of the evaluation, the commission selected five of the state’s 15 rural counties for in-depth study through on-site interviews and court observations: Elko, Humboldt, Lander, Lyon, and Nye counties.
February 15th — Indiana University – Perdue University (Fort Wayne, Indiana): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll joins a panel discussion of Indiana’s statewide systemic deficiencies in providing right to counsel services. The discussion is moderated by Rebecca Green of WBOI public radio. Other panelists are Allen County Superior Court Judge Fran Gull, Allen County Deputy Prosecutor Mike McAlexander, and Indiana Public Defender Council Executive Director Larry Landis. The conversation will be broadcast on WBOI radio and CollegeTV.
February 13th — Committee on Judiciary (Augusta, Maine): At the invitation of the House and Senate co-chairs, 6AC Executive Director David Carroll and 6AC Counsel Mike Tartaglia assist the committee in understanding constitutional requirements for providing legal representation to indigent people, including national standards addressing independence of the defense function, as the committee debates restructuring the Maine Commission of Indigent Legal Services.
February 12th — Mississippi Public Defender Task Force (Jackson, Mississippi): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll discusses the findings and recommendations from the 6Ac’s forthcoming statewide evaluation of adult felony indigent defense services.
February 9th — Indiana Task Force on Public Defense (Indianapolis, Indiana): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll continues work with the Task Force members as they develop recommendations to improve the state’s oversight of Sixth Amendment right to counsel services.
January 26th — Nevada Right to Counsel Commission (Carson City, Nevada): For the inaugural meeting of the commission, 6AC Executive Director David Carroll explains Nevada’s unique right to counsel history, the known current deficiencies in providing indigent defense representation in rural counties, and a research plan to objectively document and evaluate indigent defense in rural Nevada.
January 25th — Indiana Task Force on Public Defense, Sub-Committee of Delivery Models & Structure (Indianapolis, Indiana): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll works with sub-committee members as they debate potential statewide structures and models for the delivery of indigent defense. Topics include: the advantages and disadvantages of a statewide appellate defender; how some states regionalize the oversight of trial level indigent defense services; and methods states use to get counties to comply with statewide standards.
Our 2017 Speaking Engagements
December 8th — National Legal Aid & Defender Association, 2017 Annual Conference (Washington, D.C.): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll discusses the technical assistance and training available through the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, in the panel presentation “Looking Back and Moving Forward: Stories and Action Steps from Federally Funded TTA Providers.” Joining him in the presentation are Priya Sarathy-Jones (BJA), Marea Beeman (NLADA’s Director of Research Initiatives), Jon Rapping (Founder/President of Gideon’s Promise), and Lisa Vavonese (Center for Court Innovation’s Deputy Director for Update Office and Peacemaking Coordinator).
December 1st — Maine Work Group on Indigent Legal Services (Augusta, Maine): Maine’s task force continues to study how to achieve greater cost-certainty in providing state-funded indigent defense services. 6AC Executive Director David Carroll and Staff Counsel Mike Tartaglia provide technical assistance to the task force, explaining how other states balance the need to ensure effective representation and the desire for cost efficiency.
November 14th — Maine Work Group on Indigent Legal Services (Augusta, Maine): Maine’s legislature created a task force to examine how its indigent defense services can be provided with greater cost certainty. 6AC Executive Director David Carroll and Staff Counsel Mike Tartaglia explain the importance of oversight and accountability in a state-funded system where private attorneys bill hourly for providing representation to indigent people.
November 10th — Indiana Task Force on Public Defense (Indianapolis, Indiana): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll addresses the task force members about the findings and recommendations in 6AC’s report, The Right to Counsel in Indiana: Evaluation of Trial Level Indigent Defense Services. He explains how the model Indiana currently uses to provide public defense representation legitimizes and institutionalizes the choices made by some counties to not meet the constitutional requirements for providing effective representation. Carroll also guides the task force members in examining models used in other states to deliver Sixth Amendment services.
November 2nd — U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, Right to Counsel National Campaign (Washington, D.C.): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll interviews Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeffrey Bivins about the court’s support for legislation to improve the provision of counsel to indigent defendants in Tennessee, including by creating a statewide oversight commission and state appellate defender office, and by increasing the compensation paid to the private attorneys appointed to represent the poor. Speakers at this National Consortium include Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
October 27th — Oregon Public Defense Management Seminar (Newport, Oregon): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll speaks about supervision and quality control in systems that use contracts to provide representation to indigent defendants, at the annual seminar sponsored by the Oregon Public Defense Services Commission and the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Association. He also addresses a meeting of the statewide Public Defender Services Commission to explain the current state of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel in America.
August 11th — Indiana Public Media, WFIU Radio “Noon Edition” live discussion (Bloomington, Indiana): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll joins Indiana Public Media Reporter Barbara Brosher, Indiana Public Defender Counsel Vice Chair David Shircliff, and Marion County Public Defender Agency Chief Counsel Ann Sutton to discuss Indiana’s failure to ensure effective representation for all people of limited means who face the potential loss of liberty in criminal or delinquency proceedings. The live radio discussion is part of Indiana Public Media’s in-depth investigation into the public defender system in Indiana, “Justice For All?” – a three-part series in print, radio, and television.
August 1st — National Criminal Justice Association, The National Forum on Criminal Justice (Long Beach, California): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll speaks at the annual conference of the National Criminal Justice Association, a membership organization of criminal and juvenile justice stakeholders and policymakers. Joining him in a panel presentation are Maha Jweid (Acting Director, Access to Justice), Genevieve Citrin (American University, Justice Program Office), and Jack Cutrone (NCJA). In their presentation “Securing Sixth Amendment Rights,” they discuss the technical assistance and training available through the U.S. Department of Justice and the partnerships it enables.
May 25th — Wisconsin Press Conference at the State Capitol Assembly Parlour (Madison, Wisconsin): Wisconsin pays attorneys only $40 per hour to defend the indigent accused. This is the lowest compensation rate in the country and has not changed in 20 years, since 1995 when the Wisconsin legislature reduced the rate from $50 per hour. David Carroll presents evidence from the 6AC report, Justice Shortchanged, showing that the constitutional imperative for independent, conflict-free public defense services has given way to fiscal considerations, at a press conference announcing the Wisconsin State Bar Association and Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ petition to the state Supreme Court to raise the hourly compensation rates and ban flat-fee contracts.
April 27th — Washington Defender Association Conference (Winthrop, Washington): Independence is the first of the ABA’s Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System, yet in the state of Washington this principle is not officially contained in the state’s Standards for Public Defense Services. 6AC Executive Director David Carroll, along with Bob Boruchowitz of the Defender Initiative at Seattle University School of Law, explains how best to create and preserve the independence needed to insulate public defense systems and attorneys from inappropriate interference by governmental bodies and other justice system participants. Topics focus on ethical, structural, and managerial considerations to ensure that the administration of justice is not compromised by disadvantaged public defense systems.
April 10th — Tennessee Supreme Court, Indigent Representation Task Force (Nashville, Tennessee): The Tennessee Supreme Court Indigent Representation Task Force releases its report, fulfilling its charge to determine how the state can deliver the right to counsel in a more efficient manner. 6AC Executive Director David Carroll participates in the press conference, following on 6AC’s provision of technical assistance to the Task Force supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance.
April 5th — Nevada Senate Judiciary Committee (Carson City, Nevada): The Nevada Senate Judiciary Committee is considering a bill to create a statewide Right to Counsel Commission. On written request of Senator Segerblom, chair of the Committee, 6AC Executive Director David Carroll provides technical assistance to the committee, explaining Nevada’s unique right to counsel history and the current deficiencies in providing indigent defense services in rural counties.
March 28th — Boston University, School of Law (Boston, Massachusetts): David Carroll discusses the ways in which systemic indigent defense deficiencies contribute to wrongful convictions. Special emphasis is placed on undue political and judicial interference and the use of United States v. Cronic to get at how systemic deficiencies prevent even the best lawyers from providing constitutionally effective right to counsel services.
March 22nd — Idaho Public Defender Commission & General Assembly (Boise, Idaho): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll discusses the progress made by the Public Defender Commission in implementing recent legislative changes to ensure the right to counsel, including comparisons to similarly situated states and next steps.
March 10th — Federal CJA Panel Attorney District Representative Conference (Houston, Texas): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll discusses independence of the federal public defense services and the work of the Committee to Review the Criminal Justice Act Program.
February 24th — Tennessee Supreme Court, Indigent Representation Task Force (Nashville, Tennessee): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll testifies about proposed reforms to Tennessee’s primary and conflict indigent defense services.
January 13th — Tennessee Supreme Court, Indigent Representation Task Force (Nashville, Tennessee): In order to guarantee that the indigent representation system in Tennessee is addressing the needs of its recipients as well as benefiting the taxpayers, the Task Force is reviewing the state’s current system of providing representation to the poor. 6AC Executive Director David Carroll testifies about statewide indigent defense commissions.
January 9th — Mississippi Public Defender Task Force (Jackson, Mississippi): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll and 6AC Counsel Mike Tartaglia discuss preliminary findings from 6AC’s statewide evaluation of public defense.
Our 2016 Speaking Engagements
December 15th — Indiana Press Conference at the Capitol Rotunda (Indianapolis, Indiana): Beginning in the 1990s, the “Indiana Model” for providing public defense services was widely promoted as potentially the best way to improve the provision of the right to counsel in states throughout America. 6AC Executive Director David Carroll discusses how and why the system legitimizes and institutionalizes the choice of counties to not meet the constitutional parameters of effective representation, as detailed in the Sixth Amendment Center report released in October 2016.
October 25th — U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, Right to Counsel National Campaign (Washington, DC): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll co-moderates, along with Colette Tvedt of NACDL, a roundtable discussion on “Securing a Meaningful Right to Counsel: Perspectives on State Reforms.”
The panel discusses how best to identify and overcome deficiencies in indigent defense systems, using legislation, litigation, and public education approaches, as considered from the vantage of different types of stakeholders including judges, state legislators, and public defense providers. Topics include: a) Utah’s consensus approach to reform and the advancement of evaluation standards; b) Idaho’s recent legislative reforms and why conservatives are in the forefront of advancing the right to counsel; c) federal litigation in Washington State and the role of the U.S. Department of Justice; d) excessive caseloads of public defenders in Missouri and launching a media strike; and, e) the future of the right to counsel in New York. Panelists are: Derek P. Pullan, Utah Fourth District Judge; Christine Perry, Idaho State Representative; Michael Barrett, Missouri State Public Defender; Eileen Farley, Public Defender Supervisor for the cities of Mount Vernon and Burlington (Washington); Corey Stoughton, Senior Counsel at the USDOJ Civil Rights Division; and William Leahy, Director, New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services. You can watch video of the National Consortium in two parts: Part 1 and Part 2. Mr. Carroll’s panel is found in Part 1 beginning at 55:40 and continuing in Part 2.
October 24th — Columbia University, Columbia Law School, (New York, New York): 6AC Deputy Director Jon Mosher presents the “Indigent Defense State of the Nation” to a criminal adjudication class of 150 LL.M. and third-year law students. The presentation highlights the current problems in providing the right to counsel in Indiana, Utah, Louisiana, Missouri, and Nevada, as indicative of indigent defense deficiencies throughout the country.
October 21st — Tennessee Supreme Court, Indigent Representation Task Force (Nashville, Tennessee): In order to guarantee that the indigent representation system in Tennessee is addressing the needs of its recipients as well as benefiting the taxpayers of Tennessee, the Task Force is reviewing the state’s current system of providing representation to the indigent. 6AC Executive Director David Carroll testifies at the Task Force meeting about statewide indigent defense commissions.
September 21st — Indiana Public Defender Commission (Indianapolis, Indiana): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll presents the findings and recommendations from 6AC’s forthcoming October 2016 report of the first-ever statewide evaluation of trial level right to counsel services in Indiana since the state implemented what is widely known as “the Indiana model” for providing indigent defense representation.
September 12th — Nevada Advisory Committee on the Administration of Justice (Carson City, Nevada): The Nevada legislature created the state’s Advisory Committee on the Administration of Justice as a body to build consensus among all criminal justice stakeholders and policymakers about how best to further the aims of justice and coordinate legislative action. 6AC Executive Director David Carroll presents the history of the right to counsel in Nevada and the findings of the Nevada Supreme Court Task Force on Indigent Defense.
July 6th — It Could Be You, KABF Radio (Little Rock, Arkansas): Host John Sarna interviews 6AC Executive Director David Carroll for an hour on the state of the right to counsel in America and in Arkansas specifically. Topics include the absence of counsel in state misdemeanor courts and the appointment of counsel in name only in felony courts.
June 16th — Right to Counsel National Campaign at American University, One-Hour Webinar (Webcast): In an effort to inform and engage policymakers, criminal justice stakeholders, and the community on the importance of meaningfully carrying out the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, the Right to Counsel National Campaign at American University, within the Justice Programs Office, hosts a quarterly webinar covering an array of Sixth Amendment related topics. 6AC Executive Director David Carroll presents a comprehensive overview of right to counsel legislation in the states from the most recent legislative sessions. You can view the full webinar here.
May 20th — Council of State Governments – West (Salt Lake City, Utah): The Council of State Governments West supports legislative coordination amongst 13 western states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming) and three territories (American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam). 6AC Executive Director David Carroll presents a history of the right to counsel in the West while exploring pending systemic concerns and recent legislative victories.
May 16th-17th — Committee to Review the Criminal Justice Act Program, national hearings (Minneapolis, Minnesota): U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr., appointed the Committee to Review the Criminal Justice Act Program. That Committee is conducting a comprehensive and impartial review of the delivery of indigent defense in the federal criminal system. 6AC Executive Director David Carroll testifies, by invitation, at the last in a series of hearings held around the nation.
May 3rd — Practicing Law Institute, One-Hour Briefing Seminar (Webcast): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll and Kathryn Marshall Ali, senior associate-in-charge of U.S. pro bono at Hogan Lovells US LLP, discuss “How the Private Bar Can Impact America’s Indigent Defense Crisis.”
April 15th — Tennessee Supreme Court, Indigent Representation Task Force (Nashville, Tennessee): In order to guarantee that the indigent representation system in Tennessee is addressing the needs of its recipients as well as benefiting the taxpayers of Tennessee, the Task Force is reviewing the current indigent representation system. 6AC Executive Director David Carroll testifies at the Task Force meeting, as they begin this important evaluative work.
April 14th — Harvard Law School, course on Criminal Procedure: Adjudication “from bail to jail” (Boston, Massachusetts): 6AC Executive Director David Carroll speaks to law students as part of a two-day panel of leaders who are engaging creatively in efforts to improve and reform the criminal justice system. Others on the panel are Victor Rosario, Cathy Bennett, and Ron Sullivan, in the finale to the course taught by Lecturer on Law Lisa Kavanaugh.
March 29th — Boston University School of Law, seminar course on “Wrongful Convictions, Miscarriages of Justice, and the US Criminal Justice System” (Boston, Massachusetts): At the invitation of Prof. Michael Schneider, Jon Mosher explains to students “The Principles of Effective Indigent Defense Systems.” He is joined by Chauncey Wood, a private criminal defense attorney who specializes in post-conviction representation.
February 20th — University of Georgia School of Law, 11th Annual Working in the Public Interest Law Conference (Athens, Georgia): Phyllis Mann joins a panel discussion on representation of defendants in misdemeanor offenses. Also on the panel are David Singleton, Executive Director of the Ohio Justice & Policy Center, and Gerry Weber, Senior Staff Counsel at Southern Center for Human Rights. U.Ga.’s Associate Professor and Director of Civil Clinics Alex Scherr moderates the discussion.
February 6th — American Bar Association, Annual Summit on Indigent Defense (San Diego, California): 6AC Board Chair David Meyer speaks at the summit.
Our 2015 Speaking Engagements
November 10th — U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, Right to Counsel National Campaign Inaugural Meeting (Washington, D.C.): Jon Mosher moderates a panel discussion on “Immediate Challenges to the Right to Counsel.” He is joined on the panel by: Judge Tom Boyd from the Michigan District Court bench; Chief Justice James Hardesty of the Nevada Supreme Court; and Senator Rodney Ellis of Texas.
November 5th — Charles Koch Institute, Advancing Justice: An Agenda for Human Dignity and Public Safety (New Orleans, Louisiana):
Phyllis Mann moderates a panel discussion on “Justice Delivered: Protecting Liberty and Gideon’s Legacy.” Fellow panelists are: Norman Reimer, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; Doug Colbert, University of Maryland Carey School of Law; Jonathan Rapping, Gideon’s Promise; Kim Ball, U.S. Department of Justice; and Rick Jones, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem. Watch the panel discussion here.
October 26th — KVNU, For The People (Utah): David Carroll is interviewed by Jason Williams about the 6AC report on Utah’s trial-level indigent defense services, The Right to Counsel in Utah: An Assessment of Trial-Level Indigent Defense Services. You can listen to the interview, which begins at 8:05 on the podcast.
September 16th — University of Massachusetts School of Law (Dartmouth, Massachusetts): David Carroll makes a presentation to law students on the “National Perspective on Indigent Defense Systems and Standards.”
July 13th — National Association of Counties (Charlotte, North Carolina): David Carroll, along with Preeti Menon of the Office of Justice Programs at American University, presents a workshop at NACo’s 80th Annual Conference & Exposition discussing how county officials and public defenders can join forces to form safer communities.
July 1st — National Sheriff’s Association (Baltimore, Maryland): David Carroll, along with Preeti Menon of the Office of Justice Programs at American University, presents at the NSA Annual Conference on “What Every Sheriff Should Know About the Sixth Amendment (or, How Criminal Defense Attorneys Improve Public Safety.”
June 12th — Connecticut State Public Defender (Hartford, Connecticut): David Carroll and Jon Mosher provide a joint presentation at the Annual Meeting of Connecticut public defenders on “The Right to Counsel: Systemic Safeguards for the Sixth Amendment.”
June 2nd — Idaho Legislative Interim Committee on Indigent Defense (Boise, Idaho): David Carroll addresses “Liberty vs. Tyranny: The Right to Counsel, and Our Uniquely American Adversarial System of Justice.”
April 14th — Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (Lansing, Michigan): David Carroll discusses “Implementing Act 93: Michigan Indigent Defense Commission.”
January 5th-6th — 6AC Justice Watch program (Jackson, Mississippi): In conjunction with Harvard Law School students and attorneys from Hogan Lovells US LLP, Jon Mosher and Elly Kalfus present “Justice Watch: Studying the Right to Counsel in Mississippi.”
Our 2014 Speaking Engagements
December 17th — U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division (Memphis, Tennessee): David Carroll makes a presentation to Shelby County, Tennessee, criminal justice stakeholders, addressing “Ensuring Justice: A National Perspective on Indigent Defense Systems Building.”
December 4th — Nevada Supreme Court (Las Vegas, Nevada): David Carroll provides testimony before the Nevada Supreme Court on the abolition of flat-fee contracts for public defense representation.
October 31st — University of Tennessee College of Law (Knoxville, Tennessee): Jon Mosher presents an “Overview of the National Right to Counsel” at the UT Right to Counsel Symposium. The presentation describes the well-documented and long-standing systemic deficiencies across the country stemming from inadequate funding and resources and explains political and funding reforms responding to the crisis in indigent criminal defense.
October 8th — New England School of Law (Boston, Massachusetts): David Carroll presents on “Gideon at 50: America’s Indigent Defense Crisis.”
September 17th — Indiana Public Defender Commission (Indianapolis, Indiana): David Carroll discusses “Measuring the Right to Counsel in Indiana.
August 7th — American Bar Association, Standing Committee on Legal Aid & Indigent Defendants and Criminal Justice Section (Boston, Massachusetts): David Carroll presents on “The Criminal Justice Act at 50.”
April 18th — National Association for Public Defense (Lexington, Kentucky): David Carroll presents “Public Defense Workload: The National Perspective” at the NAPD’s three-day Workload Leadership Institute.
March 18th — University of the District of Columbia Law School (Washington, D.C.): Jon Mosher participates on a panel discussion, “Gideon 2.0 – Guaranteeing Effective Assistance of Counsel.” The discussion follows a special screening of HBO Film’s Gideon’s Army. Fellow panelists include: Ed Burnette (moderator), National Legal Aid & Defender Association; Christopher Durocher, The Constitution Project; Jenny Roberts, American University-Washington College of Law; Santha Sonenberg, Public Defender Service of the District of Columbia.
March 18th — Boston University, School of Law (Boston, Massachusetts): David Carroll follows up 2013’s address at BU with another discussing the impact of systemic indigent defense deficiencies on wrongful convictions. Special emphasis is placed on undue political and judicial interference, and the use of United States v. Cronic to get at how systemic deficiencies prevent even the best lawyers from providing constitutionally effective right to counsel services.
March 3rd — Mississippi Supreme Court Task Force on Indigent Defense (Jackson, Mississippi): David Carroll, along with Mississippi State Public Defender Leslie Lee, presents “The Right to Counsel in Mississippi: Findings & Recommendations.”
February 26th — University of Baltimore School of Law (Baltimore, Maryland): Jon Mosher joins a panel discussion regarding the Maryland Court of Appeals’ recent decision in DeWolfe v. Richmond requiring the state to provide access to counsel at bail hearings and the implications of that ruling both locally and nationally.
Our 2013 Speaking Engagements
October 17th — Idaho Legislative Interim Committee on Indigent Defense (Boise, Idaho): David Carroll presents information to the Committee about “How States Structure Right to Counsel Services.”
September 19th — Tennessee Judges Conference (Gatlinburg, Tennessee): David Carroll, in conjunction with the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts, makes a presentation on “Towards a Uniform Definition of a ‘Case.’”
August 15th — Idaho Legislative Interim Committee on Indigent Defense (Boise, Idaho): David Carroll discusses “The Right to Counsel: Constitutional Requirements, Standards & State Trends.”
June 5th — New Jersey State Public Defender (Trenton, New Jersey): David Carroll makes a presentation on the state of indigent defense services in the United States and where national advocates tend to view New Jersey in relation to other states when it comes to providing an effective lawyer with the time and training to present an effective defense. A special emphasis is placed on the need for a statewide commission to protect the independence of the defense function, as New Jersey is just one of seven statewide, state-funded public defender systems where the chief defender is a gubernatorial appointee.
May 1st — Michigan House Judiciary Committee (Lansing, Michigan): David Carroll provides testimony on “The Right to Counsel in Michigan 50 Years after Gideon.”
April 9th — Brennan Center and John Jay College of Criminal Justice (New York, New York): David Carroll moderates a roundtable discussion on the constitutional right to counsel and the impact of Gideon v. Wainwright. Special emphasis is placed on what went right and what went wrong with indigent defense over the past 50 years and how to lay a path forward to fulfill Gideon’s promise. Panelists include: Karen Houppert (author of Chasing Gideon); Jonathan Gradess (Director of the New York State Defenders Association); Gloria Browne-Marshall (Associate Professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice); and Thomas Giovanni (Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice).
March 26th — Rutgers School of Law – Student Chapter of the American Constitution Society (Newark, New Jersey): David Carroll participates in a panel entitled “Gideon at 50: Providing Better Representation to Indigent Criminal Defendants.” Other participants include: The Hon. Patricia Costello, Superior Court Judge; Joseph Krakora, New Jersey State Public Defender; Alexander Shalom, American Civil Liberties of New Jersey; and Paul Fishman, United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey.
March 19th — Boston University, School of Law (Boston, Massachusetts): David Carroll addresses the impact of systemic indigent defense deficiencies on wrongful convictions. Special emphasis is placed on undue political and judicial interference and the use of United States v. Cronic to get at how systemic deficiencies prevent even the best lawyers from providing constitutionally effective right to counsel services.
March 12th — The Hamilton Burnett Chapter of the American Inns of Court (Knoxville, Tennessee): In honor of the 50th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright, 6AC Executive Director David Carroll is part of a panel, along with Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Gary Wade, Knox County Public Defender Mark Stephens, retired District Attorney Paul Phillips, and Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts General Counsel David Haines, discussing the state of indigent defense in America. What are we getting right? What are we getting wrong? How do we better deal with the problem?
February 21st — Texas Southern University, Thurgood Marshall School of Law (Houston, Texas): David Carroll presents at a forum entitled: “Indigent Defense Systems and Policy Impact on the Quality of Legal Representation.” Mr. Carroll discusses the current state of the right to counsel in America and what national standards require of indigent defense systems. A particular focus is placed on the need for independence of the defense function and the removal of undue judicial interference.
February 9th — The American Bar Association, Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants, 2013 Summit on Indigent Defense Improvements (Dallas, Texas): 6AC Deputy Director Jon Mosher participates on a panel entitled “Annual Review of National Developments in Indigent Defense.” There, Mr. Mosher presents an overview of the most important right to counsel news stories from 2012. You can read a transcript of the presentation and view the accompanying slide presentation.
January 22nd — Utah State Legislature (Salt Lake City, Utah): David Carroll makes his “Presentation before the President of the Utah Senate and the Speaker of the House.”
Our 2012 Speaking Engagements
September 22nd — Pennsylvania Public Defender Association (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania): David Carroll and Jon Mosher jointly present on “Chief Defender Leadership to Advance Indigent Defense Systemic Reform: A National Perspective.”
