News Archive
Dean Emeritus Lefstein Discusses Indiana's Public Defender System in 'Indianapolis Star'
10/25/2016
A study released by the Sixth Amendment Center shows that Indiana’s public defender system is underfunded and that the right to a fair and speedy trial is routinely violated. In a story published October 24 in the Indianapolis Star, Dean Emeritus Norman Lefstein said making the necessary reforms to the system has “been an uphill battle for decades.”
In Indiana, counties can forgo state funding for public defense and avoid state oversight of how the indigent fare in the justice system, the study finds. Such counties don’t “fulfill the minimum parameters of effective representation,” the study reports.
“It’s a measure of what kind of society we are,” Dean Emeritus Lefstein said of the public defender system in the Star story. “Anyone ought to be disturbed by the fact that we know all of these things about our justice system and little is being done.”
Dean Emeritus Lefstein led the law school from 1988 to 2002. He is a nationally-recognized expert in the areas of indigent defense, criminal justice, and professional responsibility, and received the Robert O. Dawson Indigent Defense Distinguished Service Award from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission in Summer 2016. He teaches criminal law, criminal procedure, and professional responsibility at IU McKinney.
