For Americans, the notion of liberty and justice for all is supported by the Sixth and 14th Amendment, and the 1963 Gideon v. Wainwright U.S. Supreme Court decision, yet access to proper indigent defense across the country is lacking.

There are few legal professionals who don’t have anecdotes about overworked and underpaid public defenders in their region. There are likely zero public defenders who would say the current system is working for everyone.