Announcement: Criminal Indigent Defense in Louisiana

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

                CRIMINAL INDIGENT DEFENSE IN LOUISIANA

                             April 4, 2008


      Loyola University New Orleans College of Law's Journal of
      Public Interest Law 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 3/27/08