LANSING — An important piece of state infrastructure has undergone significant work, but this isn't a construction story. Just like its roads and highways, Michigan's public defender system had been ...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s public defender system has shown cracks for years, but a post-pandemic glut of delayed cases has exposed shocking constitutional landmines impacting defendants and crime ...

SPRINGFIELD — In 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Gideon v. Wainwright that every person has a constitutional right to free legal representation in criminal cases, including poor people who are ...

The crisis has left roughly 1,300 low-income criminal defendants statewide without legal representation — including more than a dozen who are in custody facing serious felony charges. The state’s ...

PORTLAND – Oregon’s public defender system has shown cracks for years, but a post-pandemic glut of delayed cases has exposed shocking constitutional landmines impacting defendants and crime victims ...

Oregon’s public defender system has shown cracks for years, but a post-pandemic glut of delayed cases has exposed shocking constitutional landmines impacting defendants and crime victims alike in a ...

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas has good, dedicated public defenders, but they're overworked, understaffed and underpaid, bringing the system to the verge of crisis, according to testimony before an advisory ...

Conrad Wilson / OPB Oregon lawmakers convene the 2023 legislative session in January, and leaders from both major parties say that improving the criminal justice system – specifically the severe ...

The Missouri State Public Defender System filed a lawsuit against Gov. Jay Nixon in Cole County because the governor withheld $3.5 million intended for the system last week. Leaders of the system said ...