Publications and Press Releases
- Justice and fairness threatened as OPD funding remains in jeopardy - November 9, 2011
New Orleans - "We cannot go back to the days where fairness and justice depend on what’s in your pocket. New Orleans deserves an adequately funded public defense system." To read more about our recent hiring freeze from Chief District Defender Derwyn Bunton and Chief of Trials, Kendall Green, click here.
- The Orleans Public Defenders - October 19, 2011
New Orleans - Chief District Defender Derwyn Bunton writes, "I want every person in New Orleans, regardless of income, to know there is an office taking its responsibility to serve them seriously," in response to recent questions about services our office provides. "We operate openly according to the law and we will not be intimidated into sacrificing our mission so people can try to make more money off of poor people."
- Sheriff Sued to Improve Jail System - October 4, 2011
New Orleans - A lawsuit was filed today in Civil District Court against New Orleans Sheriff Marlin Gusman. The lawsuit, filed by Stephen J Haedicke and Elizabeth Cumming on behalf of the Orleans Public Defenders, asks that changes be made to the way the jail operates so that defense attorneys have constitutional access to people being held in the jail.
- Justice at a Crossroads - August 29, 2011
New Orleans - Chief District Defender Derwyn Bunton reflects on the criminal justice system's progress since 2005. "An innocent man who needed a public defender in 2005 was the same as a guilty man. The resources available now are by no means adequate to meet all of the challenges, but they are better and we are better."
- Public Defender Corps Chooses OPD to Host Two Attorneys - April 19, 2011
New Orleans - The Public Defender Corps has chosen the Orleans Public Defenders as a host site for its inaugural class of corps members. Only 18 attorneys across the country were chosen to participate in this program, which was started to help assist struggling public defender offices around the country.
- The Orleans Public Defenders Welcomes Yale Fellow - April 12, 2011
New Orleans - The Orleans Public Defenders welcomes Yale Liman Fellow Seth Wayne to its staff. Mr. Wayne’s work at OPD will focus on addressing the mental health needs of clients. “We are pleased to be able to host such extraordinary talent,” says Chief District Defender, Derwyn Bunton. “We will not only be better able to serve our clients and community, but we are also able to do it at no cost to taxpayers.”
- Against the odds, the Orleans Public Defenders Office is recognized for outstanding work in the criminal justice system - January 6, 2011
New Orleans - The Greater New Orleans Foundation recognized the Orleans Public Defenders (OPD) today for its work in the criminal justice system through a grant from its
Transform New Orleans Fund. The Fund is a grant program from the Open Society Institute that comes through the Greater New Orleans Foundation. The award was given
on the heels of announcements about cuts in services and staff at OPD because of budget shortfalls.
- As Lawsuit is Filed against Judges for Fees, the Orleans Public Defenders Makes Sweeping Cuts to
Services - December 21, 2010
New Orleans - The Orleans Public Defenders Office (OPD) was forced to make cuts in staff and services
yesterday because of a lack of funding. The cuts came on the same day OPD was named a co-complainant with
the Louisiana State Public Defender Board in a lawsuit against 23 New Orleans judges. The lawsuit says the
judges have not been assessing a $35 public defender fee that the law says they must.
- Louisiana Public Defender Board Seeks Fee Ruling against Judges - December 19, 2010
Baton Rouge - On December 20, 2010, the Louisiana Public Defender Board (the “Board”) and the Orleans Public Defenders Office (“OPD”) sued twenty-three New Orleans judges. The suit, which was filed in the Nineteenth Judicial District Court in East Baton Rouge Parish, is based on a state law that requires judges to assess a $35 fee to every criminal defendant who is convicted after trial, pleads guilty or no contest, or who forfeits his or her bond for violation of a state statute or a parish or municipal ordinance other than a parking ticket. According to the suit, the New Orleans judges are not following the law.
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In the News
- Public Defenders don't need to "shop" for clients - October 23, 2011
New Orleans, LA - No one listens to poor people; they listen to attorneys. As a child, I believed this because I watched how people treated my family and others in our situation. It is why I became a public defender. - Chief District Defender, Derwyn Bunton.
- Sarah Chervinsky is Top Gun in Trial Advocacy - June 9, 2011
New Haven, CT - Incoming OPD attorney Sarah Chervinsky will be a great advocate for fairness in New Orleans. The second annual National Top Gun Mock Trial Competition began on June 1 when eighteen of the nation’s best law school advocates arrived in Waco, Texas, to compete for the elusive title of Top Gun—and the $10,000 cash prize that goes along with it. Ninety-six hours and six trials later, on Sunday afternoon, June 5, Yale Law School’s Sarah Chervinsky ’11 emerged as the winner.
- Louisiana Public Defender Board Member Majeeda Snead wins award - August 22, 2011
Majeeda Snead, a clinical professor in Loyola's College of Law, was one of five African-American women honored by the Urban League of Greater New Orleans. Snead was recognized for being the first black woman to lead the school's law clinic.
- Sarah Chervinsky is Top Gun in Trial Advocacy - June 9, 2011
New Haven, CT - Incoming OPD attorney Sarah Chervinsky will be a great advocate for fairness in New Orleans. The second annual National Top Gun Mock Trial Competition began on June 1 when eighteen of the nation’s best law school advocates arrived in Waco, Texas, to compete for the elusive title of Top Gun—and the $10,000 cash prize that goes along with it. Ninety-six hours and six trials later, on Sunday afternoon, June 5, Yale Law School’s Sarah Chervinsky ’11 emerged as the winner.
- Orleans criminal judges, prosecutors, defenders squabbling over case assignments - January 10, 2011
New Orleans - In recent months, the process of allotting cases to judges has provoked heated debate among criminal justice leaders. The issue created a seemingly odd alliance between the Orleans Parish district attorney's office and Orleans public defenders, pitting them against the criminal court judges.
- Orleans Parish public defenders cut services because of lack of funds - December 21, 2010
New Orleans - Saying the office will run into a budget deficit in the coming months, the Orleans public defenders announced Tuesday a general hiring freeze and plans to cut back on legal representation for poor defendants in New Orleans' traffic and municipal courts.
- Lawsuit filed against criminal court judges - December 20, 2010
New Orleans - A lawsuit was filed today against judges at Orleans Parish Criminal Court. The dispute stems from a fee that they apparently have not been collecting that would provide funding to the Public Defenders Office.
- Marijuana, misdemeanor offenses will now get just a court summons, no trip to jail - December 16, 2010
NEW ORLEANS- The criminal justice community is hailing a City Council decision Thursday as a progressive reform that can help the city run more efficiently.
- Ten New Orleans organizations to share $1.5 million in federal crime-fighting money - December 13, 2010
New Orleans - Ten local public and private organizations will share a $1.5 million federal grant that will underwrite activities designed to prevent and fight crime.
- As council passes budget, some worry about higher taxes - December 1, 2010
NEW ORLEANS – As the New Orleans City Council passed the 2011 budget Wednesday, word spread quickly about spikes in fees and property taxes.
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Contact
For general press inquiries, press kits, and recent press releases
Johnetta Pressley
Media and Communications Director
The Orleans Public Defenders
2601 Tulane Avenue, Suite 700
New Orleans, LA 70119
Tel: (504) 821-8198
Fax: (504) 821-5285
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