Public Defender Services Commission
Guidelines on Indigent Defense
These guidelines are intended to encourage public defenders and special public defenders contracted by the Division of Public Defender Services to perform to a high standard of representation and to promote professionalism in the representation of clients. These guidelines are intended to be used as a guide for the representation of clients. However, the obligations due a client are not limited by the guidelines articulated here; attorneys are also expected to use their individual professional judgment in representing clients. If that judgment mandates a departure from the guidelines, the attorney should be aware of and be able to articulate the reasons that a departure from the guidelines is in the client’s best interests.
These guidelines should be used by attorneys in evaluating and improving their own performance and by supervising attorneys in evaluating staff performance. However, these guidelines are not intended to be used as criteria for the judicial evaluation of performance or alleged misconduct of defense counsel to determine the validity of a conviction.