Notable Recent Publications features the latest empirical research and data related to indigent/public defense. If you have suggestions, ideas for work that should be included, or trouble accessing any of the articles featured, please write to Venita Embry at vembry@rti.org . Articles Pruitt, L. R., Sherman, J., & Schwartz, J. (2025). Legal Deserts and Spatial Injustice: A Study of Criminal Legal Systems in Rural Washington. https://www.yalelawjournal.org/pdf/PruittShermanSchwartzYLJForumEssay_y5zjdvjy.pdf While shortcomings in indigent defense nationally are well documented, this Essay reveals what those deficits look like in rural contexts in which the constitutionally mandated service is provided by attorneys who are not only harried and overworked, but who also may be inexperienced and working with scant oversight as contractors. The Essay also highlights new challenges arising from the fact that contract attorneys doing this work increasingly live far ...
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