History

The Louisiana Justice Coalition (LJC) came into existence in October 2004 to complement pre-existing litigation and legislative campaigns. Louisiana’s public defender system was in a state of crisis, with 41 local boards (whose members were appointed by the local judiciary) overseeing the administration, supervision and expenditure of funds to deliver public defender services.

The state appropriation in 2004 was just over $7 million. In, 2007, the bulk of public defender funding (up to 90% in some offices) came from locally generated traffic ticket revenue. This created a unstable source of funding, highly vulnerable to political interference, that absolutely failed to comply with Louisiana’s constitutional obligation to provide for a “uniform system of securing and compensating qualified counsel for indigents” (Article 1, § 13).

Since its inception, LJC has provided public education and media services that presented a unified front among all members of the defense bar that supported two major tenets: First, that there was an urgent problem that threatened to compromise the criminal justice systems in every single district in the state. Second, the remedy could take many forms, but it must be built upon the American Bar Association Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System.

Through hundreds of outreach interviews, dissemination of materials and significant media accomplishments, LJC has played a critical role in changing public perception and improving the climate of public defense reform in Louisiana. Through statewide collaborations with various social service providers, advocacy organizations, faith-based groups, juvenile advocates, policy-makers and the client community, LJC is the only organization in Louisiana dedicated solely to the continued improvement of public defense delivery.

On August 15, 2007, the Louisiana Public Defender Act became law, dissolving the 41 local boards and creating a single state agency (supervised by a diverse 15-member Board of Directors) with the authority to collect financial, workload and other data, adopt and enforce performance standards, supervise the quality of defense services, provide training to the field and make regular reports to the Legislature, among other responsibilities. The accompanying state appropriation in 2007 was over $28 million. Locally generated revenue streams were unaffected by the legislation.

In 2007, LJC joined the Community Oriented Defender Network, supported by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. With the passage of comprehensive statutory reform, LJC broadened its focus to build public support and resources for the community defense model. When adequately resourced to provide high-quality, holistic defense services, public defenders minimize the likelihood of recidivism -- saving tax dollars, protecting public safety and giving their clients the best opportunities to become valuable members of their community.

In January 2008, LJC initiated the Caddo Community Defense Project – staffed by an experienced social worker with a commitment to improving the services available to defendants in the criminal justice system. In 2009, LJC initiated the Plaquemines Defender Services Program, which provided social worker services to the 25th JDC Public Defender’s Offices. It has also worked to develop an ‘ExtraLegal Needs Assessment’ for district public defender offices, and supported various community oriented defender projects throughout the state.

Currently, LJC continues to contribute to the public defense reform movement by providing public education, media outreach, defender resources/training, research products, technical support and fundraising efforts to district public defender offices in Louisiana. LJC works closely with the Louisiana Public Defender Board to maximize limited resources in order to improve defender resources and client services.