New Orleans - In 2007, almost 100 bi-partisan stakeholders worked to create sweeping change and establish meaningful constitutional representation for the thousands of Louisianans within the criminal legal system consistent with established guidelines such as the American Bar Association’s 10 Principles of Public Defense.
Act 307 created standards of representation, established transparency and accountability, and institutionalized Louisiana’s obligation to provide indigent representation. It was hailed as legislation that finally ensured Louisiana had a system of delivering indigent defense that clearly provided all defendants with a right to effective representation.
The Orleans Public Defenders have fought tirelessly since then to improve the quality of representation of New Orleanians and ensure zealous advocacy is not determined by the amount of money in their pockets.
For nearly two decades, public defense in New Orleans and Louisiana has suffered from an overall lack of adequate, stable, and reliable funding. Senate Bill 8 unfortunately didn’t address that; instead it has the potential to fundamentally change what the right to counsel for Louisianans looks like by eroding the independence inherently necessary for a fair and non-partisan legal system.
At its core, public defense safeguards against government overreach, misconduct, and abuse. Our concern remains how these changes will affect autonomous representation for New Orleanians and how we will be able to advocate for and represent our community.
While legislators assure this is still a priority issue, more work remains to improve this bill and fully realize the constitutional right to representation in Louisiana. We remain committed to working with legislators, stakeholders, and our community to ensure public defense is fully funded in stable, reliable ways and all Louisianans have access to zealous and effective representation.
