WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with Ranking Member Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) announced the reintroduction of the Providing a Quality Defense Act in commemoration of Gideon Day, the day in 1963 when the Supreme Court decided Gideon v. Wainwright, a landmark case that recognized the constitutional imperative that the government must provide counsel to those who are too poor to afford their own criminal defense. The Providing a Quality Defense Act would help provide indigent criminal defendants with meaningful and competent representation. 

“Today marks the 62nd anniversary of Gideon v. Wainright, the landmark Supreme Court decision which affirmed that in order to ensure a fair trial, every person charged with a crime deserves adequate legal representation, regardless of their socioeconomic background,” said Senator Booker. “Public defenders help fulfill the promise of Gideon by serving as a lifeline for people navigating the criminal justice system. But far too often, public defenders are overworked, underpaid, and lack the necessary resources to effectively represent criminal defendants in the legal system. The Providing a Quality Defense Act seeks to change that by establishing grant programs for public defense offices to hire more public defenders, increase salaries to ensure pay parity with prosecutors, and provide the tools and resources public defenders need to handle their caseloads and provide competent legal defense.”

“Public defenders bear the responsibility of ensuring our right to due process, a cornerstone of the American justice system,” said Senator Durbin. “They ought to have the necessary resources to fulfill their critical mission. Our bill helps support public defenders by bolstering resources to ensure public defense remains a competitive field of law that can attract and retain quality talent. This is an important step toward ensuring a fair justice system for all.”

“As the Senate’s only former public defender, I have enormous respect for how essential this workforce is to our criminal judicial system and democratic institutions. Ensuring the country’s public defenders and panel attorneys are adequately trained with the necessary resources is crucial for improving access to justice,” said Senator Welch. “I’m proud to partner with my Judiciary Committee colleagues on this bill to support our public defender workforce and ensure the right to counsel is protected.”

Specifically, the Providing a Quality Defense Act would: 

  1. Establish a grant program for public defense offices to hire public defenders or panel attorneys, case workers, social workers, investigators, or paralegals. These grants could also be used to achieve pay parity for public defenders or panel attorneys with prosecutors’ offices
  2. Provide grant funds to public defense offices to establish loan repayment assistance programs for public defenders
  3. Direct the Attorney General to develop best practices and recommendations for public defender and panel attorney caseloads and for the compensation of public defenders and panel attorneys
  4. Allow states to report data about criminal cases heard by courts to the Attorney General for the purpose of developing best practices
  5. Establish grants for educational programs for public defenders and panel attorneys, including for ongoing training and support

The Providing a Quality Defense Act is endorsed by: Brennan Center for Justice, Dream.org, Gideon's Promise, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National Legal Aid & Defender Association, Sentencing Project, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.