Concert Celebrates the Landmark 1963 SCOTUS Ruling with Shows Across the Country to Support the Right to Counsel and Continue the Fight for Fair and Equitable Criminal Legal System
New Orleans –The Orleans Public Defenders, BJ’s Lounge and Luke Allen and the Happy Talk Band will join forces to bring the national Concerts for Indigent Defense to New Orleans on March 28, 2026. The event celebrates Gideon Day, the anniversary of the landmark 1963 United States Supreme Court’s ruling that enshrined the Right to Counsel and OPD’s continued fight for a fair, just and equitable criminal legal system. The New Orleans show joins other shows in Houston, Denver, and Santa Fe, NM.
March 18th marks the 63rd anniversary of the constitutional Right to Counsel established by the U.S. Supreme Court. Gideon v Wainwright was a watershed moment for the criminal legal system that cemented the right for everyone to be represented by an attorney when facing a loss of liberty. Modern public defense began with Gideon and the Supreme Court ruling, yet more than 60 years later, the Right to Counsel remains unfulfilled, and even threatened, due to underfunding and disregard for the critical role of public defense. Now more than ever, the right to legal representation is paramount. Public defenders protect and fight for the rights of their clients, hold power accountable, and work to ensure their communities are equitable and just.
WHAT: Concerts for Indigient Defense: New Orleans
featuring Luke Allen and the Happy Talk Band, with the Bottoms
WHEN: Wednesday, March 28, 2026, 9:00 p.m.
WHERE: BJ’s Lounge: 4301 Burgundy St, New Orleans, LA 70117
WHY: Celebration of Public Defense and the Right to Counsel, Call for Equitable Funding
"New Orleans has never been a city that gives up, and neither have we. Despite budget shortfalls, the demands of the criminal legal system, and daily injustices and harms to our community, we continue fighting for dignity, justice, and hope for our clients and community,” said Danny Engelberg, New Orleans’ Chief Public Defender. “With the recent budget cuts by the city, we are sure to see significant impacts in the coming months to people navigating the criminal legal system and needing representation. Without public defense, the entire system grinds to a halt. It is imperative that public defense be adequately funded and resourced.”
Luke Allen of the Happy Talk Band takes pride in their role in this year’s Concert for Indigent Defense: New Orleans. “As a musician, a public defense investigator, and a citizen of both this country and this city, I can think of no greater cause than the preservation of the right to counsel for ALL, no matter your race, creed, religion, immigration status, or how much money you happen to have in your pocket or bank account, said Mr. Allen. “In these strange days, I no longer take this democracy of ours for granted. In many ways indigent defense is the backbone of this country's aspirations of equality.”
Concerts for Indigent Defense Founder Stephen Saloom
“In Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court unanimously said judges simply cannot dispense justice if they can’t understand the defendant’s side of the story,” said Concerts for Indigent Defense founder Stephen Saloom. “They established the constitutional right to a lawyer particularly for those who cannot afford their own – so that judges can advance justice – and not injustice - at each stage of a criminal proceeding. Yet to this day, across the country, underfunding of public defense and indigent representation result in justice delayed and denied for poor people across the country.” Saloom continued, “Musicians and communities across the city care deeply about equity and fairness, and Concerts for Indigent Defense provides us an opportunity to – together – remind people how important it is to support this constitutional right every day in our criminal courts.”
New Orleans hosted the country’s first Concert for Indigent Defense in 2017, co-produced by John Thompson, who narrowly escaped wrongful execution after being wrongfully convicted. Mr. Thompson died later in 2017, and the movement remains a resurrection of that part of his fight for justice for all people trying to navigate the daunting legal system.
For more information, visit www.opdla.org or www.ConcertsforIndigentDefense.org
