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With the 60th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright 372 U.S. 335 (1963), NIJ is collaborating with DOJ’s Office for Access to Justice on two new indigent defense services research projects:
NIJ FY23 Research and Evaluation on the Administration of Justice solicitation – This program supports rigorous research and evaluation projects examining the impact of court and other criminal justice tools, practices, and policies on the administration of justice and public safety in state, local, and tribal jurisdictions. The objectives of this FY23 solicitation are to support applied research on public defense approaches and their effects on equitable access to justice, enhancing the workforce and court workgroups, and advancing court practices related to IDS delivery. NIJ intends to fund up to four research grants totaling $2 million. Read the solicitation and review the resulting awards: "NIJ FY23 Research and Evaluation on the Administration of Justice: Advancing Access to Justice 60 Years after Gideon."
NIJ AND ATJ Report on Indigent Defense Service Models – NIJ contracted with expert consultants to conduct a scan of IDS models currently used in U.S. state, local, and tribal criminal courts, which resulted in the report Gideon at 60: Summarizing A Snapshot of State Public Defense Systems and Paths to System Reform. This report addresses the prevalence of different models, factors contributing to how jurisdictions select different models, and variations in case and other outcomes associated with each. It highlights key developments in indigent defense delivery and systems that have experienced significant change in the past decade. The report was produced from 1) review and synthesis of publicly available reports and materials about indigent defense systems and 2) interviews with indigent defense subject matter experts and those whose roles intersect with indigent defense systems, such as public defenders, judges, prosecutors, county and state policymakers, advocates for criminal justice impacted people, and community stakeholders.
Rigorous research can play an integral role in indigent defense services, policy and practice development. NIJ has supported indigent defense research since the 1970s.
On this page, find links to articles, awards, events, publications, and multimedia related to indigent defense.
