Louisiana Public Defender Board

State Of Louisiana Sued Over Failure Of Public Defender System

The public defender’s office is still dark in the Orleans Parish Criminal Courthouse in New Orleans on Friday, May 26, 2006. (AP/Alex Brandon)
(REPORT) — Louisiana officials are denying poor people their constitutional right to counsel by failing to establish an effective statewide public defense system, according to a lawsuit filed today by the SPLC and its allies.