Aerosmith, the Eagles and the Rolling Stones crooned from the speakers at Vacation Bar in Santa Ana last Thursday. The gift table was near the entrance. Pizzas and cheesecake sat toward the back.

SPRINGFIELD — In 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Gideon v. Wainwright that every person has a constitutional right to free legal representation in criminal cases, including poor people who ...

Oregon faces a severe public defense crisis, with more than 5,500 defendants lacking legal representation. Lawmakers are considering various bills, including increased funding and restructuring ...

The last time judges in Marion County tried to force public defenders to take on new clients, more than half of the public defense staff quit and the issue landed at the state’s highest court.

The scandal that scrambled Orange County’s justice system, upending dozens of murder cases, began late on a Friday night in a legal office that formerly was a morgue. It was April 2012, long ...

A committee will investigate the firings of five chief public defenders who claim the state terminated their employment without just cause — and in violation of their First Amendment right to ...

The Legislature should take steps to create a new, independent public defense system that's financed by social impact bonds. Frank Zarro is the principal of Society Impact in Portland. He works ...

A year after the Louisiana Legislature passed a controversial bill giving more power to a state public defender appointed by Gov. Jeff Landry, five chief public defenders have been told they are ...

The unrepresented crisis in Oregon rests on a simple truth: everyone accused of a crime deserves effective legal representation. This isn’t a political position. It’s a constitutional ...

PORTLAND, Ore. — The district attorneys for Oregon's two most populous counties are pushing for changes they say will immediately help address the worsening crisis of defendants going ...

INDIANAPOLIS — The debate over immigration enforcement was back in the spotlight Tuesday at the Indiana Statehouse. The Senate’s Corrections and Criminal Law Committee heard testimony about House Bill ...