News Archive
Dean Emeritus Lefstein Quoted in Editorial on Attorney Oversight
06/18/2018
An editorial in the San Antonio Express-News examines the lack of oversight of private attorneys who handle indigent defense cases in Bexar County. The piece quotes Dean Emeritus Norman Lefstein.
Published June 16, the editorial notes that county officials there refuse to upgrade the public defender's office citing cost as a factor. The newspaper reports that the county spent more than $13 million in indigent defense last year, with some attorneys handling more than 500 cases a year. "Those lawyers should be monitored and overseen," said Dean Emeritus Lefstein.
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 taught criminal law, criminal procedure, and professional responsibility at IU McKinney.
