State-Funded Indigent Defense Services, 1999

• NCJ Number: 188464
• Author(s): Carol J. DeFrances, Ph.D., Bureau of Justice Statistics
• Date Published: September 2001
• Publication Type: Publication

Annotation

Presents findings from data collected as part of the 1999 National Survey of Indigent Defense Systems in the 21 states where the state government provides virtually all of the funding for indigent defense services.

Abstract

Presents findings from data collected as part of the 1999 National Survey of Indigent Defense Systems in the 21 states where the state government provides virtually all of the funding for indigent defense services.  It examines the type of defender programs used in the 21 states and how the programs are organized. State operating expenditures for criminal indigent services are presented in the aggregate and by program type. Staffing and caseload data also are presented for public defender, assigned counsel, and contract attorneys programs.

Highlights

 

 

• The 21 States, accounting for 27% of the U.S. population, spent $662 million on indigent criminal defense services in 1999, more than double the total amount in 1982 in constant dollars.
• In 1999 State governments provided 90% or more of the funding for indigent criminal defense services in 21 States, an increase of 4 States since 1982.