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Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia company history timeline

1960

In a harbinger of reforms to come, Congress passed the District of Columbia Legal Aid Act in 1960.

1963

In 1963, seven years after creation of NLADA’s Defender section, the United States Supreme Court issued its historic ruling in Gideon v.

In 1963, the original Metro Charter recognized the continuation of the Davidson County Public Defender’s Office.

Wainwright in 1963 did this really start to change.

1964

By the 1964 passage of the Economic Opportunity Act, there was a greater understanding of how legal aid could be an integral part of fighting poverty.

Further Reading: Cheshire, Geoffrey. “A History of the Criminal Justice Act of 1964.” Federal Lawyer (Mar.

1967

The NJOPD provides attorneys for indigent criminal defendants in both the adult and juvenile levels of Superior Court, as the result of expanded jurisdiction called for in late 1967.

1969

The Santa Barbara office was created in 1969 at about the time that many other Public Defender Offices were created nationally.

The first Public Defender was Peter Murray, whose untimely death in 1969 led to the appointment of Stanley C. Van Ness by Gov.

Prior to his 1969 appointment, Stanley C. Van Ness had been Governor's Counsel and active in national efforts to reform court procedures.

1970

In 1970, Congress responded by finally authorizing district courts to either appoint federal public defenders or use the support of local legal aid organizations to provide equivalent support for indigent defendants.

1972

The system was established in 1972.

1973

By 1973, there were 14 public defender offices in the state of Missouri.

1974

After dedicated research and advocacy by NLADA and others, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) was established in 1974 to promote civil legal services for low-income Americans.

Van Ness also became the state's first Public Advocate when that agency was created in 1974, and is widely regarded as the architect of the office as it exists today.

1976

Clara Shortridge Foltz: Pioneer in the Law Originally Published in the Hastings Law Journal, Volume 27, January 1976

In 1976, the Public Defender Commission was created to appoint full-time public defenders to four-year terms and to oversee the system, which provided for the assistance of counsel to indigent persons accused of crimes.

1977

By 1977, the total number of public defender offices had reached 18.

1982

In 1982, a house bill amended the system with the creation of the Office of State Public Defender (OSPD) as an independent department of the judicial branch of state government.

In 1982, Joseph H. Rodriguez, a prominent trial attorney and former chairman of the State Commission on Investigation and the Board of Higher Education, succeeded Mr.

1985

The Battles of Clara Shortridge Foltz Originally published in the California Defender, Volume 1, Issue 1; Spring 1985

In 1985 he ascended to the position of United States District Court Judge, District of NJ, and became the first Latino in New Jersey's history to hold that position.

1987

By 1987, 23 public defender offices existed and employed 233 people.

1989

In 1989, the State Public Defender System received funding for a reorganization that created three specialized legal services divisions:

1997

When the Department of the Public Advocate was first disbanded in 1997, the NJOPD was moved to become "in but not of" the New Jersey State Treasury Department, where it has remained ever since.

1998

Judge Rodriguez achieved senior status in 1998.

1999

In mid-1999, as part of the state's move to satisfy federal legislation geared toward speeding the adoption of children placed in foster care, the NJOPD began representing children in so-called "Title 30" cases.

In 1999, Judge Rodriguez received both the "Medal of Honor Award" from the New Jersey State Bar Foundation and the "William J. Brennan Jr.

2000

Torres passed away while in office in November 2000.

2002

PDS files the litigation that leads to the adoption in 2002 by the United States Parole Commission of deadlines for resolving parole and supervised release revocation cases (Long v.

2006

PDS helps draft amendments to the District’s 2006 criminal record sealing law that allow for more people to request the sealing of records of arrests that did not result in convictions.

2015

In April 2015, the Department of Justice and the FBI, following a review of 200 convictions, formally acknowledged that nearly every hair examiner (46 of 48) in the FBI’s forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against defendants.

2022

The office was later divided into two divisions: The Adult or Criminal Division is located at 404 James Robertson Parkway, Suite 2022 and the Juvenile Division, is housed at the Juvenile Justice Center at 100 Woodland Street.

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1960
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Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia competitors

Company nameFounded dateRevenueEmployee sizeJob openings
INDIANA FEDERAL COMMUNITY DEFENDERS1993$5.0M16-
DC Courts1970$7.9M66-
The Bronx Defenders1997$21.4M4208
Committee for Public Counsel Services-$40.0M66019
Illinois Office Of The State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor----
Orange County Public Defender----
Rhode Island Legal Services1970$670,00050-
Delaware Volunteer Legal1981$999,9996-
Denver DA's Office-$8.5M270-
Texas RioGrande Legal Aid1970$78.0M304-

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