Orleans Public Defenders

Traffic Court Judges Should Play by the Rules

News

02 August 2012

The Orleans Public Defenders office is at a crossroads. OPD is fighting for funding to stay afloat and provide constitutional legal defense to tens of thousands of poor people moving through the New Orleans criminal justice system each year.

While our fiscal crisis would not be solved by the additional money that auditors and the inspector general agree Traffic Court owes, OPD's problems would lessen.

The New Orleans Traffic Court owes us money. It's that simple.

What does $500,000 mean to OPD? It equals about 10 attorneys. Put another way, it means the ability to handle at least 1,500 more felony cases per year. It means attorneys for clients currently on a waiting list.

Story continues... Read more at NOLA.COM

OPD to Restore Services and Programs

News

02 August 2012

With the start of a new fiscal year – OPD is slowly restoring many of the services we were forced to cut due to budget shortfalls earlier this year.  While budgets and staffing are still not at optimum levels, the renewed services will provide our clients with much-needed representation. 

A full-time Conflict Division returns in a smaller capacity to represent clients that have previously been wait-listed for representation.  The Conflict Panel will transition to a new contract system.  Full-time attorneys have returned in Municipal and Traffic Court and OPD is launching a Capital Division, effectually reducing costs previously contracted outside the office. 

For more, view Chief District Defender Derwyn Bunton’s interview on WDSU click here

Derwyn Bunton Honored As Leader In The Law

News

02 August 2012

New Orleans, LA – Chief District Defender Derwyn Bunton was named by New Orleans CityBusiness as a 2012 Leadership in Law honoree. Bunton was among 50 of New Orleans’ top legal professionals recognized for moving the legal community forward with energy, innovative ideas, achievements and a commitment to excellence.

Now in its eighth year, Leadership in Law honors court-associated attorneys, in-house counsel and firm-associated attorneys. The 2012 class was recognized March 20 at the New Orleans Museum of Art and will be featured in the March 23 issue of New Orleans CityBusiness.

“It is an honor to be chosen and included among New Orleans’ best,” Bunton said. “This is the product, recognition and vindication of hard work on the part of our office over the years through tough political times. The fight for effective public defense in New Orleans is ongoing, but it feels good to have the work of our office validated.”

Under Bunton’s leadership, the Orleans Public Defenders Office represents nearly 30,000 court-appointed clients each year. OPD aims to provide eligible citizens of Orleans Parish with client-centered legal representation of the highest quality – zealous, conscientious, caring, professional, ethical and skilled – in criminal and municipal/traffic court.

The recognition comes on the heels of announced restrictions of services due to years of chronic underfunding. The budget shortfalls forced restrictions of legal services, layoffs of attorneys and staff, and the termination of conflict and capital appointments. Despite the cuts, Bunton and the OPD continue their work toward an efficient and effective criminal justice system in New Orleans.

Community-Oriented Defense in Practice in New Orleans

News

12 June 2012

Sounds good, but what does it really mean?

Community. Derived from the Latin word communis meaning "common, public, general, shared by all or many." So what is this community-oriented defense practice we consistently talk about and why is it crucial to the work we do at Tulane and Broad?

When OPD began in 2007, our vision was to create a community-oriented defender office built upon the zealous defense of the poor and indigent while acknowledging the strengths of clients, families and communities. What we found was this only happens with a staff of dedicated, passionate and capable attorneys, investigators, client advocates, social workers, administrators and more.

Guided by the Brennan Center for Justice's Ten Principles of Community-Oriented Defense, we are the line of defense for thousands in the New Orleans criminal justice system. We are the voice for those without one. We are the champions for people, their rights and their futures. Our work extends beyond the courtroom. We strive for rehabilitation and re-entry programs rather than incarceration, we advocate for our clients' needs in jail and out, and we connect our clients to community-based social services to help them become happy and successful members of our community.

Principle 1: Create a Client-Centered Practice

This has been our primary focus and the driving force behind our mission. Representation begins at arrest, often long before arraignment. Attorneys and investigators begin immediate case preparation, while advocates work with clients on bond and indigency determinations, medical needs, language translation, and by and large helping clients continue their lives while their case proceeds.

Principle 2: Meet Clients' Needs & Principle 8: Pursue a Multidisciplinary Approach

These two principles work hand in hand in our practice. Sure attorneys get the glory, but to really succeed it takes all divisions working together to meet our clients' needs in the courtroom and out.

Advocates, social workers, investigators and attorneys have accomplished everything from securing proper medical care in a qualified nursing home – including prosthetic legs! – for a client whose health was quickly deteriorating in jail, to tracking down a witness who cracked the case securing the client's release and leading to a much-needed job opportunity, to ensuring a beloved dog is rightfully returned to his owner. So far this year, our Client Services Division has served nearly 500 clients and provided close to 900 services. And it's only July.

Principle 3: Partner with the Community

Our advocacy would not be possible without our community partners. We work with social service providers to get our clients the treatment and support needed to address underlying issues. One example, by joining forces with the Greater New Orleans Drug Demand Reduction Coalition to target drug abuse and addiction at the root cause, we can keep those in need, out of the criminal justice system and thereby reducing recidivism.

Principle 4: Fix Systemic Problems

New Orleans is unfortunately awash with systemic problems obstructing a fully just criminal justice system. Increasing access to proper medical and mental health treatment in jail, eliminating overdetention, and reducing pre-trial incarceration are just a few of the issues we work tirelessly to right.

Principle 6: Collaborate

We collaborate with grass-roots activists, faith-based supporters, community and civic partners and stakeholders to ensure a fair and just, open and honest criminal justice system is accessible to all. Together with other criminal justice stakeholders in the New Orleans PreTrial Services Working Group, we are working to reduce the vast number of individuals detained pretrial, many simply because they can't afford bond, thus reducing the need for a larger jail.

Principle 9: Seek Necessary Support

While lack of funding remains a critical hindrance for most public defender systems, we recently took the issue head on. Through an Open Society Foundation grant, we are spearheading a reform campaign for stable, predictable, reliable and adequate funding throughout Louisiana.

To meet all these benchmarks and better meet our clients' needs, we aim to relate on a human level and provide honest, thoughtful and caring representation. At the heart of client-centered representation is the belief that, armed with all the facts, knowledge and a personal relationship with our clients, we can guide our clients through the often overwhelming and confusing criminal justice system. We support and encourage our clients, often long after the case is over, and cheer their successes. This is the foundation of our community-oriented defense model and the backbone to our practice. "Common...shared by all or many." Community. Our community.