The American Bar Association reported that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department will offer two grants totaling $2.4 million for research projects studying obstacles to indigent defendants receiving competent legal services, as well as to support measures to eliminate those barriers. Holder made his announcement at the ABA’s Seventh Annual National Summit on Indigent Offense Improvement, held in New Orleans on February 4, 2012.
According to the ABA:
“Holder announced that the National Institute of Justice, a part of the Office of Justice Programs, will begin officially soliciting applications within the next few weeks for grants to support research on fundamental issues of access to legal services, including the need for quality representation, at the state and local levels. He said the institute will commit up to $1 million to support these grants.
Holder also said that, later this spring, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Assistance will solicit applications from state and local jurisdictions for grants that would support on-the-ground efforts to help assure that defendants have access to counsel at the earliest stages of criminal proceedings; provide support for members of the private bar in representing indigent defendants; reduce caseloads; and support oversight of public defender and assigned counsel systems. Up to $1.4 million will be dedicated to this grant program.”
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