Gideon at 60 Conference
The Defender Initiative is hosting its Eleventh Conference on Public Defense on the 60th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright.
It has been 60 years since the United States Supreme Court granted Clarence Earl Gideon’s handwritten claim for appointed counsel in a state felony case. With a lawyer at his new trial, Mr. Gideon was acquitted.
This year, nearly 50 years since the National Advisory Commission developed the familiar caseload standard of 150 felonies or 400 misdemeanors per lawyer per year, a coalition of national leaders is publishing new workload standards that are dramatically lower. The Washington State Bar Council on Public Defense plans to recommend that the existing court rule standards be amended with the new national standards in mind.
In this conference, we will explore both the progress that has been made in the past 60 years and the multiple challenges ahead as defenders work to improve the representation of their clients.
Sponsored by The Washington Defender Association and The Windermere Foundation.
Date: Friday, March 17, 2023
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Location: Sullivan Hall, Seattle University School of Law, 901 12th Avenue Seattle, WA 98122
Learn more about the Defender Initiative.