The Compendium of Standards For Indigent Defense Systems presents national, state, and local standards relating to five major aspects of indigent defense:
- Administration of defense systems (Volume I)
- Attorney performance (Volume II)
- Capital case representation (Volume III)
- Appellate representation (Volume IV)
- Juvenile justice defense (Volume V)
These standards are non-case specific statements that help policymakers assess the adequacy or appropriateness of the provision of defense services to indigent defendants. Some standards are aspirational, that is, a goal for the future; other standards are enforced by operating or funding agencies. The standards and rules collected here were issued by national organizations; state agencies and organizations, including bar associations, public defender agencies, and state high courts; and local court or bar associations.
The Compendium is intended to be useful for persons dealing with funding sources; for agencies or organizations that are developing criminal defense standards; and for academics and courts that need a reference point.
Sponsorship and Development
The Compendium was commissioned by the Bureau of Justice Assistance in the Office of Justice Programs of the United States Department of Justice. It was developed by the staff of the Institute for Law and Justice with guidance from an advisory board of practitioners and academics in the field of criminal defense systems. The assistance of the Spangenberg Group is also gratefully acknowledged, especially in helping identify state and local standards for inclusion in the Compendium.
Methodology
Once a standard was identified, ILJ staff sought permission from the sponsoring agency to reprint the standard here. The intent of the Compendium was to be as inclusive as possible. No effort was made to include only the "best" standards. If any standards have been left out, we apologize to the standards' sponsors.
Each volume lists specific topics, such as provision of training or the need for adequate facilities, and then presents all the standards relevant to those topics. By and large, the selection of topics followed the topical headings used in the standards themselves.
The materials included in the Compendium go beyond standards themselves. In several instances, we have included court rules and agency operational policies that are the functional equivalent of standards. The inclusion of such materials points to the need to put standards into context. At the state level, standards do not exist by themselves. Their content is often shaped by state legislation and court rules, either of which may have been the force requiring the development of the standards. Thus, to understand state and local standards, some knowledge of the governing state law is required. By necessity, any state law that creates a defense services delivery mechanism also treats the issues of governance, structure, jurisdiction, funding, and many other topics often covered by standards. While this Compendium of Standards For Indigent Defense Systems includes a limited review of state laws, an exhaustive review is beyond its reach.
A final point is that implicit in the standards are strictures relating to the ethical requirements expected of all attorneys in all types of cases. In a sense, the standards are but commentary to this overriding ethical principle: "A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness, and preparation reasonably necessary for this representation" (ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, adopted 1983). What these standards do is identify how that principle can be achieved and measured in the criminal indigent defense setting.