LibGuides: National Public Defense Day: Overview

Overview

Statutory basis

LII - Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, both quoted text and annotated.

Context and analysis of the Right to Counsel:

LII - The Right to Counsel: "The right to counsel refers to the right of a criminal defendant to have a lawyer assist in his defense, even if he cannot afford to pay for an attorney. The Sixth Amendment gives defendants the right to counsel in federal prosecutions. However, the right to counsel was not applied to state prosecutions for felony offenses until 1963 in Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335. This was done through the incorporation doctrine. However, for certain misdemeanors, there is not a guaranteed right to counsel."
The Sixth Amendment Center - Facts and Resources: "The right to counsel under the U.S. Constitution is actually a fairly simple concept. If you are charged with a crime for which you face potential time in jail, then you have the constitutional right to have a lawyer to assist you in your defense. And if you can’t afford to hire that lawyer on your own, then the government must provide you with a qualified attorney at public expense."
Constitution Annotated - When the Right to Counsel Applies: "The Constitution Annotated is a comprehensive, government-sanctioned record of the interpretations of the Constitution. Through 2 U.S.C. § 168, Congress has ordered the Librarian of Congress to compile and periodically update the Constitution Annotated to provide essential information to Congress and the public at large. A bound edition of the Constitution Annotated is published every ten years, with cumulative updates printed as a supplement insert every two years. Copies of the bound edition and supplement insert are available to every Member of Congress and shipped to every depository library in the United States."
The Brennan Center - The Right to an Attorney: Theory vs. Practice: "The head of the Sixth Amendment Center explains how to bridge the gap between what the Constitution guarantees and what people can actually get when it comes to public defenders."

Prominent cases

Gideon v. Wainwright - 372 U.S. 335 (1963)

The Supreme Court held, in a unanimous decision, that the Fourteenth Amendment creates a right for criminal defendants who cannot pay for their own lawyers to have the state appoint attorneys on their behalf. Before this case, the 6th Amendment right to counsel was only recognized for federal criminal trials.

Background / Opinion

Brewer v. Williams - 430 U.S. 387 (1977)

The right to counsel granted by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments means at least that a person is entitled to a lawyer's help at or after the time that judicial proceedings have been initiated against him; and once interrogation has begun of that person.

Background / Opinion

Nix v. Whiteside - 475 U.S. 157 (1986)

The Sixth Amendment right of a criminal defendant to assistance of counsel is not violated when an attorney refuses to cooperate with the defendant in presenting perjured testimony at his trial.

Background / Opinion

Strickland v. Washington - 466 U.S. 668 (1984)

The appropriate standard for ineffective assistance of counsel requires both that the defense attorney was objectively deficient and that there was a reasonable probability that a competent attorney would have led to a different outcome.

Background / Opinion

Oyez - Right to Counsel Cases
A list of Supreme Court cases dealing with the Right to Counsel. Background, recordings of oral arguments and links to opinions available for most, if not all.

Reference Librarian

Eli Edwards

Overview

Research Materials

Criminal Law Materials

Complete manual of criminal forms, 3rd ed. F. Lee Bailey and Kenneth J. Fishman. (Clark Boardman Callaghan, 1993- ) (final print update 2020) KF 9616 .B2522 & Westlaw subscription database (ID/password required)*

Constitutional rights of the accused, 3rd ed. Joseph G. Cook. (West Group, 1996- ) Westlaw subscription database (ID/password required)*

Criminal law defenses. Paul H. Robinson. (West Group, 1984- ) Westlaw subscription database (ID/password required)*

Criminal practice manual. (Thomson-West, 2004- ) Westlaw subscription database (ID/password required)*

Criminal procedure, 4th ed. Wayne R. LaFave, et. al. (Thomson-Reuters, 2015-) Westlaw subscription database (ID/password required)*

Criminal procedure in practice, 5th ed. Paul Marcus. (ABA, c2018) KF9656 .M29 2018

The Department of Justice manual, 4th ed. (Wolters Kluwer) KF 5107 .D482 (Reserve) (no longer updated in print) & Online via VitalLaw

Federal criminal trials, 8th ed. James C. Cissell. (LexisNexis, 2016- ) KF 9660 .C572 (final print update 2023) & Lexis subscription database (ID/password required)*

Federal grand jury: a guide to law and practice, 2nd ed.Susan W. Brenner and Lori E. Shaw. (Thomson/West, 2006- ) Westlaw subscription database (ID/password required)*

Grand jury law and practice. Sara Sun Beale et al. (West Group, 1997- ) Westlaw subscription database (ID/password required)*

Handling misdemeanor cases, 2nd ed. F. Lee Bailey and Kenneth J. Fishman. (Clark Boardman Callaghan, 1992- ) KF 9656 .B352

How to try a murder case: pretrial and trial guidelines for prosecution and defense. Michael D. Wims, Jack B. Rubin, & Charles Ambrose. (Criminal Justice Section, ABA, c2011) KF 9306 .W56 2011

Law of confessions, 2nd ed. David M. Nissman and Ed Hagen. (Thomson West, 2013- ) Westlaw subscription database (ID/password required)*

Prosecutorial misconduct, 2nd ed. Bennett L. Gershman. (West Group, 2002- ) Westlaw subscription database (ID/password required)*

Prosecutorial misconduct: law, procedure, forms, 4th ed. Joseph F. Lawless. (LexisNexis & Matthew Bender, 2008- ) KF 9640 .L38 2008

The rights of the accused under the Sixth Amendment: trials, presentation of evidence, and confrontation, 2nd ed. Paul Marcus et al. (ABA, 2016) KF 4558 6th .R54 2016

The rule-out method of criminal defense. David Ball et al. (ABA, c2024) KF 9660 .B355 2024

Searches and seizures, arrests and confessions, 2nd ed. William E. Ringel. (Thomson-West, 1979- ) Westlaw subscription database (ID/password required)*

Search and seizure: a treatise on the Fourth Amendment. 5th ed. Wayne R. LaFave. (Thomson-West, 2012 - ) KF 9630 .L26 2012

Wharton’s criminal evidence, 15th ed. Barbara Bergman. (West Group, 1997- ) Westlaw subscription database (ID/password required)*

Wharton’s criminal law, 15th ed. Charles E. Torcia. (West Group, 1993- ) Westlaw subscription database (ID/password required)*

White collar crime, 2nd ed. Joel M. Androphy. (West Group, 2001- ) Westlaw subscription database (ID/password required)*

♦

California:

Appeals and writs in criminal cases. 3rd ed. Sarah H. Ruddy. (CEB, 2007-) KFC 1174 .F582

California criminal defense practice. (Lexis Publishing, 1981- ) KFC 1155 .C342 & Lexis subscription database (ID/password required)*

California criminal law, 4th ed. B.E. Witkin and Norman L. Epstein. (Witkin Legal Institute, 2012- ) KFC 1100 .W52 2012

California criminal law. Prof. Laurie L. Levenson & the Hon. Alex Ricciardulli. (Rutter Group c2014-) KFC 1100 .L35 (Reserve) & Westlaw subscription database

California criminal law forms manual. 2nd ed. Sara H. Ruddy (CEB, 2005 - ) KFC 1155 .A65 C342 (Reserve) & Online via CEB Onlaw

California criminal law procedure and practice. (CEB, 1986- ) KFC 1155 .C3424 (Reserve) & Online via CEB OnLaw

California criminal practice, motions, jury instructions and sentencing, 4th ed.. Edward A. Rucker, Mark E. Overland. (Thomson-West, 2015-2017) KFC 1155.A65 R8 2015 (Reserve) & Westlaw subscription database (ID/password required)*

California criminal procedure. Laurie L. Levenson. (Rutter, c2011- ) KFC 1155 .L482 & Westlaw subscription database (ID/password required)*

California three strikes sentencing. J. Richard Couzens & Tricia A. Bigelow. (Rutter Group, c2008- ) KFC 1172 .C68

Defending your client in a misdemeanor case (including DUI): here's how and when to do it. Timothy J. Garrigan & Nicole Solis. CEB Action Guide. (CEB, c2014) KFC 995 .A1 C34 (Reserve) & Online via CEB OnLaw

Scientific evidence and expert testimony in California. (CEB, 2015- ) KFC 1165 .S352

Sex crimes: California law and procedure. J. Richard Couzens & Tricia A. Bigelow. (Rutter Group, c2011- ) KFC 1122 .C68 & Westlaw subscription database (ID/password required)*

NOTE: Most CEB titles are also available online via CEB OnLaw.

*NOTE: UCLA School of Law provides Bloomberg Law, Lexis & Westlaw accounts for UCLA law students, faculty and staff only.

Public Defender organizations

Local public defender organizations

Alameda County - Office of the Public Defender
Covers the county of Alameda, which includes East Bay cities such as Oakland, Berkeley, Fremont, etc.
Los Angeles County - Office of the Public Defender
Orange County - Office of the Public Defender
San Diego County - Office of the Public Defender
San Francisco County - Public Defender's Office
Santa Barbara County - Office of the Public Defender
Santa Clara County - Public Defender's Office
Covers cities in Silicon Valley, including Sunnyvale, Cupertino and San Jose.

State-level public defender organizations

Office of the State Public Defender
"The California Legislature created the Office of the State Public Defender in 1976 to represent indigent criminal defendants on appeal. The office was formed in response to the need for consistent, high-quality representation of defendants in the state appellate courts. Over the years, the mission of the agency has changed. Now, the Office of the State Public Defender focuses its resources on post-conviction appellate representation in death penalty cases. The agency currently represents more than 130 men and women on death row in California."

Federal public defender organizations

Federal Public Defenders - Central District of California
"The Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California has been representing indigent clients charged with federal crimes since 1971. The Central District of California encompasses seven counties (Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo) and has a population of over 19 million people. We have the largest office in the national federal defender system, with offices in Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and Riverside that serve the federal courthouses in each location."
Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc.
"Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc., is the Federal Community Defender Organization for the Southern District of California. We are based in San Diego, with a branch office in El Centro, California, and are appointed to represent indigent persons accused of criminal offenses in federal court. A nine-member Board of Directors oversees our daily operation. We are independent from the local federal judiciary and funded by a sustaining grant (FY2021 approximately $25 million) awarded by Congress under the Criminal Justice Act."
Federal Public Defenders - Eastern District of California
Offices located in Fresno and Sacramento.
Office of the Federal Public Defender - Northern District of California
"The Northern District of California stretches along the coast from Monterey County in the south to the Oregon border in the north. It includes the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sonoma."
Federal Public and Community Defender Directory
A PDF director of all federal-level public defender offices in the United States.

Advocacy

Legal Organizations

ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense
"The Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense (SCLAID) has jurisdiction over matters related to the creation, maintenance, and enhancement of effective civil legal aid and criminal indigent defense delivery systems and services, including by: (a) advocating for meaningful access to the justice system for all; (b) supporting viable and effective plans to increase funding for legal aid and indigent defense delivery systems and services; and (c) developing standards and policy, disseminating best practices, and providing training and technical assistance."
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
"NACDL is committed to enhancing the capacity of the criminal defense bar to safeguard fundamental constitutional rights. Towards this goal, NACDL works to activate the voices of members of the criminal defense bar and others in the broader community concerned about criminal justice reform to most effectively root out systemic injustice within the criminal legal system; to place all forms of inequities, including systemic racism, at the forefront of criminal justice reform; to increase participation among underrepresented members of the criminal defense bar in NACDL; and to educate and prepare criminal defense lawyers."
American Civil Liberties Union - Public Defense Reform
National Legal Aid and Defender Association
"For more than a century, we have pioneered access to justice at the national, state, and local levels in multiple ways: helping create many of the first public defense systems in the country; supporting the Legal Services Corporation; developing nationally applicable standards for legal representation; and advocating for groundbreaking legislation. We serve as the collective voice for our country's civil legal aid and public defense providers and offer high-quality advocacy, training, and technical assistance."