Conference Announcement: CRIMINAL INDIGENT DEFENSE IN LOUISIANA

            LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS COLLEGE OF LAW
                AND THE PUBLIC INTEREST LAW JOURNAL
                      ANNOUNCE A SYMPOSIUM ON

               CRIMINAL INDIGENT DEFENSE IN LOUISIANA

                            April 4, 2008


     Loyola University New Orleans College of Law's Public
     Interest Law Journal is sponsoring a symposium on criminal
     indigent defense on April 4, 2008 at the Loyola law school,
     featuring individuals who have been involved in the reform
     of criminal indigent defense systems nationally and in
     Louisiana, to discuss and explore the changes likely to
     result from recent reforms enacted by the Louisiana
     legislature, to some extent modeled after reforms pursued
     in other states, the challenges that remain and further
     reform efforts that may improve the likelihood that
     Gideon's promise will be a reality in the state of
     Louisiana and the city of New Orleans.


     OVERVIEW:

     The Supreme Court decided Gideon versus Wainwright in 1963.
     In January 2005, the American Bar Association's Standing
     Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants published a
     report titled "Gideon's Broken Promise: America's
     Continuing Quest for Equal Justice." That report identified
     a number of problems in indigent defense systems throughout
     the country. In Louisiana, the problems identified
     included lack of funding, lack of training for indigent
     defense attorneys, lack of support staff, inadequate
     compensation and benefits for indigent defense attorneys,
     excessive caseloads, undue political or judicial controls
     over indigent defense attorneys and a lack of statewide
     oversight and structure for indigent defense services. The
     complete failure of criminal indigent defense experienced
     in the New Orleans area in the aftermath of Hurricane
     Katrina later that year created genuine impetus for change.
     In 2007 the Louisiana legislature acted to eliminate local
     control of indigent defense systems and instituted a
     statewide system of criminal indigent defense. Challenges
     still remain, however. The issue is critical for Louisiana:
     according to the Louisiana Justice Coalition, about 90
     percent of all criminal defendants in Louisiana are
     indigent.


     PARTICIPANTS:

     Confirmed participants include David Carroll and Richard
     Goemann, National Legal Aid & Defender Association; Lisa
     Kung, Director, Southern Center for Human Rights; Norman
     Lefstein, Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus, Indiana
     University School of Law - Indianapolis; G. Paul Marks,
     Louisiana Public Defenders Association; Pamela Metzger,
     Tulane University Law School; Jelpi Picou, Jr., Capital
     Appeals Project; Jonathan Rapping, John Marshall Law
     School; D. Majeeda Snead, Loyola University New Orleans
     College of Law Clinic; and Ronald Sullivan, Clinical
     Professor of Law and Director, Harvard Criminal Justice
     Institute. Up to 6.25 hours of CLE credit will be
     available to participants.


     REGISTRATION/FURTHER INFORMATION:

     For more information contact:

     CONTACT:       Jessica Howard
     Email:         MAILTO:jkhoward@loyno.edu
     Tel:           504-861-5558
Posted 3/7/08