Who We Are
Public Defenders Need Dependable Revenue
- News
The independent evaluation of the Orleans Public Defenders released last week applauds many of our office's best-practices, while also providing recommendations to improve the management of the service restriction that was caused by insufficient funding for public defense.
OPD takes seriously the report findings and, with Louisiana Public Defender Board, is already at work to make improvements ensuring indigent defendants in Orleans Parish are represented by an office with the resources to effectively provide the constitutional right to counsel.
The stability of public defense services is directly related to the stability of funding. We depend on monthly remittances from almost a dozen different sources and have absolutely no fund balance to cover any interruption in those remittances. As a result, there is an omnipresent risk of service restriction. No amount of preparation or communication can address this issue until OPD enjoys stable, sufficient funding and is relieved of its month-by-month financial existence.
Story continues... Read more at NOLA.com
Volunteer Fellows Expand Holistic Defense Reach
- News
OPD is pleased to welcome fellows from Louisiana Delta Service Corps, an AmeriCorps program, and Jesuit Volunteer Corps. The fellows provide vital services in various branches of the office and are a crucial part to the success of OPD’s holistic defense practices.
Kim Diemer, Louisiana Delta Service Corps fellow, is a 2012 graduate from Tulane University with a degree in Gender and Sexuality Studies. She previously interned with Client Services, and jumped at the chance to return to OPD, this time advocating for qualifying clients under the new Louisiana Act 402.
Mairead Kennelly is a Jesuit Volunteer Corps fellow also working with Client Services advocating for clients in all aspects of their case. Originally from Rye, NY, Mairea graduated last May from Boston College where she studied English and Sociology.
Public Defenders Don't Need To 'shop' For Clients
- News
Nola.com - October 23, 2011
New Orleans, LA - No one listens to poor people; they listen to attorneys. As a child, I believed this because I watched how people treated my family and others in our situation. It is why I became a public defender. - Chief District Defender, Derwyn Bunton.
Sarah Chervinsky Is Top Gun In Trial Advocacy
- News
Law.Yale.edu - June 9, 2011
New Haven, CT - Incoming OPD attorney Sarah Chervinsky will be a great advocate for fairness in New Orleans. The second annual National Top Gun Mock Trial Competition began on June 1 when eighteen of the nation’s best law school advocates arrived in Waco, Texas, to compete for the elusive title of Top Gun—and the $10,000 cash prize that goes along with it. Ninety-six hours and six trials later, on Sunday afternoon, June 5, Yale Law School’s Sarah Chervinsky ’11 emerged as the winner.
Louisiana Public Defender Board Member Majeeda Snead Wins Award
- News
Nola.com - August 22, 2011
Majeeda Snead, a clinical professor in Loyola's College of Law, was one of five African-American women honored by the Urban League of Greater New Orleans. Snead was recognized for being the first black woman to lead the school's law clinic.
Orleans Criminal Judges, Prosecutors, Defenders Squabbling Over Case Assignments
- News
Nola.com - January 10, 2011
New Orleans - In recent months, the process of allotting cases to judges has provoked heated debate among criminal justice leaders. The issue created a seemingly odd alliance between the Orleans Parish district attorney's office and Orleans public defenders, pitting them against the criminal court judges.
OPD IN THE MEDIA
HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Talks Public Defense featuring OPD
Public Defense Matters
See our new YouTube channel and listen to some of our stories.
Indefensible: The Story of New Orleans' Public Defenders
More than 80% of defendants in New Orleans can’t afford a lawyer ...
When the Public Defender Says, ‘I Can’t Help’
“Your Honor, we do not have a lawyer for this person at this time.”
