Standards and Ethics

June 20, 2006: State of Louisiana Performance Standards for Criminal Defense Representation in Indigent Criminal Cases in the Trial Court (Louisiana Indigent Defense Assistance Board)

The “Performance Standards for Criminal Defense Representation in Indigent Criminal Cases in the Trial Court” were adopted on June 20, 2006 by the Louisiana Indigent Defense Assistance Board. The standards are intended to serve several purposes, first and foremost to encourage public defenders, assistant public defenders and appointed counsel to perform to a high standard of representation and to promote professionalism in the representation of indigent defendants. The Standards are intended to alert defense counsel to courses of action that may be necessary, advisable, or appropriate, and thereby to assist attorneys in deciding upon the particular actions that must be taken in each case to ensure that the client receives the best representation possible. The Standards are also intended to provide a measure by which the performance of individual attorneys and district public defender offices may be evaluated, and to assist in training and supervising attorneys.

To view these standards, please visit the Louisiana Public Defender Board site: http://www.lapdb.org/standards.htm

 

May 13, 2006: Ethical Obligations of Lawyers Who Represent Indigent Criminal Defendants When Excessive Caseloads Interfere With Competent and Diligent Representation (American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense, Formal Opinion 06-441)

"In this opinion we consider the ethical responsibilities of lawyers, whether employed in the capacity of public defenders or otherwise, who represent indigent persons charged with criminal offenses, when the lawyers’ workloads prevent them from providing competent and diligent representation to all their clients. Excessive workloads present issues for both those who represent indigent defendants and the lawyers who supervise them."

 

May 3, 2005: 2005 State of the Judiciary Address to the Louisiana Joint Session of the House and Senate

Delivered by Pascal F. Calogero, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Louisiana