In 1994 the State Bar of Texas established a standing committee on Legal Services to the Poor In Criminal Matters. The charge of this Committee was to . . .
study the system of defense of indigent persons in criminal law matters in Texas, collect data and other information relevant to their defense and to develop recommendations for action by the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Legislature, and all other entities that are or should be involved in the provision of quality representation to indigent persons involved in criminal law matters.
You can learn more about the Committee's activities and indigent criminal defense by following these links:
Guidelines and Standards for Texas Capital Counsel - Adopted by the State Bar Board of Directors, April 21, 2006. The objective of these guidelines is to set forth a state-wide standard of practice for the defense of capital cases in order to ensure high quality legal representation for all persons facing the possible imposition or execution of a death sentence by any State of Texas jurisdiction. (In .pdf format)
County Overhead Data - The Fair Defense Act (SB 7) requires that pay schedules established for the payment of court appointed attorneys consider the overhead expenses associated with such a practice. This link provides overhead for each administrative judicial region and county as reported in the Committee's 1995 survey of criminal defense lawyers.
Fair Defense Act Becomes Law - The Fair Defense Act (SB 7) provides significant progress for Texas in the area of indigent criminal defense became law June 14, 2001.
Standards for the Provision of Legal Services Poor in Criminal Matters - Developed by the Committee and adopted by the State Bar Board of Directors April 20, 2001, these standards detail the criteria that should be used by indigent criminal defense delivery systems.
Symposium on Indigent Criminal Defense - On December 7 - 8, 2000 the State Bar of Texas hosted a symposium on indigent criminal defense. Learn more about the agenda and speakers at this event including transcripts of the presentations.
Muting Gideon's Trumpet: The Crisis in Indigent Defense in Texas - A report adopted by the Committee which examines the state of indigent defense in Texas. This report was received by the State Bar Board of Directors September 22, 2000.
DOJ 2000 National Symposium on Indigent Defense Report - The report provides a summary of plenary and workshop discussions advancing collaborative efforts in program innovations, strategies to fix systemic problems and examples of leadership efforts in criminal justice and indigent defense communities. (Adobe format).
The Compendium of Standards for Indigent Defense Standards - This report brings together standards from a wide variety of sources to give practitioners and policymakers examples of the range of current "best practices" in place at the state and local level, along with the policy initiatives of several national standard-setting bodies. The five volume set covers the following topics: Administration of Defense Systems; Attorney Performance; Capital Case Representation; Appellate Representation; and Juvenile Justice Defense.
US Attorney General's Remarks - Read Attorney General Janet Reno remarks to the National Symposium on Indigent Defense on February 25, 1999 in Washington, D.C.
Useful Links - Find links to various legal resources related to indigent criminal defense.
Survey Results - Since 1995 the Committee has gathered data related to the status of indigent defense in Texas by surveying defense attorneys, prosecutors, and judges. View the executive summaries and survey reports here.
Related Research - View conference papers and articles related to the status of indigent defense in Texas.
Email the Committee - If you have questions about the Committee's activities, please contact us.
This page was last updated on 10/18/07.
A Committee of the State Bar of Texas
www.uta.edu/pols/moore/indigent/indigentdefense.htm