Guidelines for Indigent Defense Caseloads

Group: Public Policy Research Institute at Texas A&M

URL: http://tidc.texas.gov/resources/publications/reports/special-reports/weightedcaseloadst...

Description

House Bill (HB) 1318, passed by the 83rd Texas Legislature, instructed the Texas Indigent Defense Commission (TIDC) to "conduct and publish a study for the purpose of determining guidelines for establishing a maximum allowable caseload for a criminal defense attorney that... allows the attorney to give each indigent defendant the time and effort necessary to ensure effective representation." In response to this directive, TIDC determined to conduct a weighted caseload study. This methodology accounts for variation in the amount of attorney time required to defend different types of cases. Unlike other weighted caseload studies, this was the first to include time spent by private assigned counsel.

Tags

courts, public legal services, caseload

Other Attributes