Orleans Public Defenders

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Orleans Public Defenders statement on allegations against Ashley Crawford

: News; 25 June 2019

New Orleans, LA – The recent discovery of former Staff Attorney Ashley Crawford’s apparent ineligibility to practice law in Louisiana prompted swift and decisive action to gain as much information as possible.

Ms. Crawford joined our office last October and all documentation we received upon her hiring indicated she was barred and in good standing. We check yearly to ensure our attorney staff remain in good standing and it was those administrative controls that revealed problems with her eligibility. We acted swiftly to make all necessary notifications in accordance with our ethical, professional, and legal obligations. As of Tuesday morning, Ms. Crawford’s employment with OPD has been terminated.

We want to reassure our clients and our community we are committed to our mission: to fight for our clients by providing excellent client-centered representation, reforming the system and partnering with community.

Orleans Public Defenders to begin wait-listing conflict case assignments

: News; 06 May 2019

Funding Shortfalls Once Again Cause Service Restrictions

New Orleans – The Orleans Public Defenders once again began waitlisting conflict cases – cases where ethics rules prevent OPD’s main office from representing someone – effective last Friday, May 3, 2019 due to continued funding shortfalls and the unsustainable lack of necessary resources. Contract conflict panel contracts will no longer be issued to contract attorneys representing OPD cases in criminal and juvenile court. Chief Defender Derwyn Bunton alerted judges and the Mayor’s office last week, as well as announced in a letter to all criminal legal system stakeholders, that OPD can no longer continue the current pace of representation under continued chronic underfunding of public defense.

News of service restrictions and the fallout of Louisiana’s user pay system – is not new. OPD instituted full service restrictions twice in the last seven years, and Chief Defender Bunton made clear at the budget hearings last fall that OPD faced the same prospects unless a significant increase in funding occurred.

OPD honors VOTE’s Norris Henderson and Saints players Benjamin Watson and Demario Davis

: News; 29 April 2019

Annual Award Honors Commitment and Advocacy for Equal Justice in New Orleans

New Orleans – Last week, the Orleans Public Defenders (OPD) honored Voice of the Experienced (VOTE) Executive Director Norris Henderson, as well as New Orleans Saints players and Players Coalition members Benjamin Watson and Demario Davis, for their support of public defense, their fight for equal justice for poor people in New Orleans and their advocacy for criminal justice reform in Louisiana.

Norris Henderson has long led the fight for equity and reform in Louisiana, particularly for formerly incarcerated people and impacted communities. VOTE and Norris have been integral in many of the historic reforms in recent years, including the passage of the Justice Reinvestment package in the Louisiana legislature, the reestablishment of voting rights for formerly incarcerated people and the end to Jim Crow-era nonunanimous juries in Louisiana.

Louisiana must fulfill the promise of legal defense for everyone

: News; 24 March 2019

By Derwyn Bunton, guest columnist to Nola.com

“If you can’t afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you.” The statement so ubiquitous today, once wasn’t familiar. Thanks to the dogged persistence of a poor, Florida drifter nearly 60 years ago, the public defender system so fundamental to criminal justice today began.

In Gideon v. Wainwright¸ the U.S. Supreme Court agreed Clarence Gideon’s constitutional rights were violated by his being denied a lawyer. Justice Hugo L. Black wrote that because of the adversary system, any accused person who cannot afford a lawyer “cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him.” The right to counsel means we are all entitled – rich, poor, and in between – to effective representation. The court made clear over the years a warm body or placeholder lawyer is not enough.

However, in Louisiana, the right to effective counsel is threatened by years of chronic underfunding and a user-pay funding structure that remains inadequate, unstable and unreliable. This is no surprise. The Orleans Public Defenders Office (OPD), and public defenders across the state continue to criticize and highlight the inequities in and dangers of our criminal justice system. At best an underfunded public defender system slows down court proceedings and delays justice for the accused, for victims and our entire community. At worst, it steals innocence with wrongful convictions, punishes poverty by jailing poor people unable to afford bond and erodes confidence in a criminal justice system meant to protect innocence and keep our communities safe.

In Louisiana, the promise of effective legal representation remains unfulfilled, due in large part to continued, chronic underfunding and a failure to provide public defense with resource equity. In fact, the amount invested in public defense at the state level remains inadequate, forcing the Louisiana Public Defender Board to play “whack a mole” with funding to prevent systems from going bankrupt.

----- Read more at NOLA.com

REVISED 2019 NEW ORLEANS BUDGET COMMITS TO HISTORIC SUPPORT OF PUBLIC DEFENSE

: News; 29 November 2018

Inequities Still Remain Among Criminal Justice Entities

New Orleans, LA – Today, the New Orleans City Council amended Mayor Cantrell’s proposed budget, adding $300,000 more for the Orleans Public Defenders Office (OPD). Mayor Cantrell’s initial budget initially proposed $1,513,623 for OPD. The Council also funded the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights – the juvenile public defender for New Orleans – for the first time.

This represents a historic appropriation for public defense in New Orleans and Louisiana. However, much work remains before equity in our justice system is fully achieved and we put an end to Louisiana’s user-pay justice system. More urgent, OPD is not out of the woods yet. The prospect of case refusals, court stoppages, and court slowdowns are on the horizon for OPD without more funding. “At the same time, we are optimistic continued engagement with the Mayor and members of the Council will provide solutions which avoid a larger crisis,” said Chief Defender Derwyn Bunton. OPD remains in service restrictions with the implementation of public defender waitlists and case refusals looming.

OPD Hosts 3rd Annual Second Line for Equal Justice

: Calls To Action; 22 October 2018

We will once again join together with our community, our partners and allies in justice reform for our 3rd Annual Second Line for Equal Justice.

With a continued focus on fairness and equity in the criminal justice system, we will call on New Orleans' decisionmakers and leaders to prioritize equitable funding for OPD and public defense in New Orleans, as well as an end to our discriminatory money bail system, and abolishing Louisiana's nonunanimous jury statute.

Make plans to join us on Saturday, November 3!

Want to get involved and join us? Reach out to Lindsey Hortenstine, .