The Spangenberg Group: Indigent Defense Studies

National Level Projects

The Spangenberg Group has conducted nationwide research projects on a variety of topics relating to indigent defense services. Examples of The Spangenberg Group's research on a nationwide level include:

In 1986, The United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics contracted with The Spangenberg Group to conduct a nationwide survey of indigent defense systems. This survey updated the previous survey conducted by Abt Associates, with Robert Spangenberg serving as Project Director, in 1982. The findings of the 1986 survey were published in the 1988 BJS document, Criminal Defense for the Poor, 1986.

For over twelve years, The Spangenberg Group has been under contract with the American Bar Association's Bar Information Program, which provides support and technical assistance to individuals and organizations working to improve their jurisdictions' indigent defense systems. As the ABA's primary provider of technical assistance relating to indigent defense systems, The Spangenberg Group has worked with judges, bar associations, state and local governments, legislative bodies and public defender organizations in over forty states around the country.

The Spangenberg Group was under contract with the American Bar Association Post Conviction Death Penalty Representation Project 1986 through 1997. The Spangenberg Group's work with the Project involved conducting research and providing technical assistance to support defense attorneys representing individuals convicted of committing capital crimes.

Statewide Projects

Projects Statewide projects completed by The Spangenberg Group are comprehensive assessments of individual state's existing indigent defense systems. Statewide studies typically involve on-site work which includes: interviewing public defense attorneys and support staff, assigned counsel, judges and prosecutors; review of caseload and other secondary data; a written report containing detailed findings and recommendations for improvements or modifications; and any necessary testimony on behalf of the contracting entity. The following organizations have contracted with The Spangenberg Group for statewide indigent defense assessments:

Florida Public Defender Association
Connecticut's Division of Public Defender Services, Connecticut's Commission to Study the Management of State Government (a joint project with Maximus)
Mississippi Bar Association Criminal Justice Task Force Indigent Defense Subcommittee and Mississippi State Bar
Louisiana Supreme Court Task Force on Indigent Defense
Office of the Administrator for the Courts in the State of Washington
Oklahoma Bar Association and Oklahoma State Bar Foundation
Indigent Defense Services Division of the Oregon Judicial Department State Public Defender of Oregon
Virginia State Bar, Virginia Legislature and Virginia State Court Administrator's Office
Ohio State Bar Association, Ohio State Public Defender and the Ohio Legislature
Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services
New Mexico Public Defender Department
Tennessee Criminal Justice Funding Crisis Group
Nebraska Indigent Defense Task Force
Wisconsin State Public Defender
Alaska State Public Defender

Statewide studies have been conducted under the auspices of the American Bar Association Bar Information Program at the request of the following organizations:

State of Arkansas Office of the Attorney General and Executive Branch and the Arkansas State Bar
New Mexico Public Defender Department
Missouri State Bar Special Committee on the Representation of Indigent Criminal Defendants
Alabama Supreme Court, Alabama State Bar and the Administrator of Courts of Alabama
The Iowa State Court Administrator's Office, Legislature and Governor's Blue Ribbon Task Force on Indigent Defense
Arizona Supreme Court
Maine State Court Administrator's Office and a special commission created by the Maine State Bar Association
Vermont Office of the DefenderGeneral
State Bar of Michigan Task Force on Assigned Counsel Standards
Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys and the Tennessee District Public Defenders' Conference
Washington Senate Judiciary Committee and the State Public Defender's Association
Indiana State Bar and Indiana Public Defender Training Council

Regional/County Projects

Regional studies examining existing public defender and indigent defense programs or reviewing options for new programs have been conducted for the following entities:

Los Angeles County, California (Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office and the Countywide Criminal Justice Coordination Committee)
The Orange County (California) Attorneys Association
San Diego County, California Office of Defender Services
Fulton County (Atlanta) Public Defender, conducted through the American Bar Association Bar Information Program at the request of the Georgia Indigent Defense Council
Marion County (Indianapolis), on behalf of the Indiana Bar Association and Marion County government
Maine Criminal Justice Planning and Assistance Agency, conducted through the American Bar Association's and Bar Information Program.
County of Lancaster, Nebraska
The New York Legal Aid Society Criminal Defense Division
The New York Legal Aid Society Juvenile Rights Division
The New York Legal Aid Society Criminal Appeals Bureau
Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) Public Defender, conducted through the American Bar Association Bar Information Program
Baton Rouge, Louisiana Indigent Defense Board
Maricopa County, Arizona
Cameron County, Texas Indigent Defense Program, conducted through the American Bar Association Bar Information Program and the Texas State Bar Committee for the Provision of Legal Services for the Poor in Criminal Matters
King County (Seattle), Washington
Dade County, Florida Circuit Public Defender, conducted jointly with the National Center on State Courts
Albuquerque, New Mexico Public Defender, supported by the American Bar Association Bar Information Program

Computerized Case Tracking and Computer Modeling

The Spangenberg Group provides technical assistance to organizations seeking to modify and improve their computerized case tracking abilities. Increasingly, public defenders have come to rely on computerized case tracking systems for key elements of their work. With an efficient system, attorneys and support staff can instantly access and review all significant aspects of an individual case. Support staff are able to prepare computerized court dockets for staff attorneys, on a daily or weekly basis. Additionally, management and supervisory staff can periodically track individual staff attorney caseloads and workloads. Finally, key administrative staff can monitor overall caseload for both management and funding purposes. A computerized case tracking system enables public defenders to project future staffing and resource needs and to prepare budget requests which include reliable, quantitative data on workload.

The Spangenberg Group has worked with the following defender organizations in the area of computerized case tracking and computer modeling:

The New York Legal Aid Society Criminal Defense Division
The New York Legal Aid Society Juvenile Rights Division
The New York Legal Aid Society Criminal Appeals Bureau
Public Defender of the State of Delaware
Illinois Office of State Appellate Defender, in connection with litigation support provided to the MacArthur Justice Center
Marion County, Indiana
Florida Public Defender Association

Caseload and Workload Measures

Because it is generally agreed that workload and workload units are a more reliable measure than simply counting cases, a number of organizations have retained The Spangenberg Group to conduct detailed time-based studies of public defender attorney workload. The caseload standards developed through these studies are used to more accurately forecast and budget for the number of staff attorneys and support staff needed to handle the current workload, and to adjust staffing according to changes in the future. The Spangenberg Group has conducted caseload/workload studies on behalf of the following organizations:

Colorado State Public Defender
Indiana Public Defender Council
Minnesota Board of Public Defense
The New York Legal Aid Society Criminal Defense Division
California Office of the State Public Defender (a joint project with the National Center for State Courts)
State Public Defender of Wisconsin

Litigation Support

The Spangenberg Group has provided litigation support in a number of cases which have raised claims of resource and systemic deficiencies in state and county indigent defense systems. Mr. Spangenberg and the Spangenberg Group have been asked to gather data, interview individuals familiar with the indigent defense system and observe proceedings in court in several jurisdictions. Mr. Spangenberg has provided expert testimony in nine cases in the past seven years. Those cases are as follows:

Capital Collateral Representative - Northern Region, et al., v. Singletary, Case No. 92,595, Supreme Court of Florida, 1998
Rivera v. Rowland, No. CV95-545629, Superior Court, Judicial District of Hartford-New Britain, 1996
Green v. Washington, No. 93 C7300, U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, September 1995
Games v. State of Indiana, Cause No. CR832-16A, Marion Superior Court Criminal Division, Room 1, April 1995
State of Tennessee v. Courtney B. Mathews, No. 33791, Criminal Court for Montgomery County, March 1995
Conner v. State of Indiana, Cause No 496018801-CF 08449, Marion Superior Court Criminal Division, February 1995
In Re: Jones County Public Defender Office, No. 93-CA-1273, First and Second Judicial Districts
In Re: Certification of Conflict in Motions to Withdraw Filed by Public Defender of the Twelfth Circuit, C.A. No. 82, 782, Supreme Court of Florida, August 1993
Harris v. State of Indiana, CR83-118A, Marion County Superior Court Criminal Division, January 1992
In The Matter of the Recorder's Court Bar Association, et al. V. Wayne County Circuit Court, et al, Michigan Supreme Court 86099 (1993). (Testimony was provided by Mr. Spangenberg before a Special Master in January 1990.)

Standards and Guidelines Library

On behalf of the American Bar Association Bar Information Program, The Spangenberg Group has collected and archived all available national, state and local indigency screening, cost recovery, caseload, performance, qualification and other standards used by indigent defense organizations throughout the country. This valuable reference library is continuously updated, and is accessible to individuals and organizations interested in adopting standards in their jurisdiction.

Studies of Systems and Representation in Capital Cases

Studies of the systems for providing legal representation to indigent persons charged with capital offenses include a review of state statutes, court rules, and case law on compensation and expenses for court-appointed counsel. The Spangenberg Group has reviewed capital defense representation practices for the following organizations:

State of Indiana and the Indiana Public Defender Commission
Judicial Council of California
State Bar of Texas
Virginia Law Foundation
Defender Services Division of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts
The Committee to Review the Criminal Justice Act of the Judicial Conference of the United States

Studies and projects concerning the defense of indigent individuals convicted of capital crimes which have been conducted under the auspices of the American Bar Association's Post Conviction Death Penalty Representation Project include:

Collection of competency standards for counsel representing capital state post-conviction petitioners
Analysis of the right to counsel, compensation and expenses in state post-conviction death penalty cases (updated periodically)
Overview of states' use of standards to regulate delivery of representation to indigent defendants in capital cases
Survey of attorney compensation rates at trial
Technical assistance in the design and budgeting for the former federal death penalty resource centers
Comparison of prosecution and defense resources for capital litigation prepared for Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights Committee of the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives (also on behalf of the American Bar Association Bar Information Program)
Survey of compensation rates for counsel and experts in capital cases on direct appeal, state post-conviction and federal habeas corpus
Time and expense analysis in post-conviction death penalty cases in North Carolina
A caseload/workload formula for Florida's Office of the Capital Collateral Representative

Studies concerning the representation of indigent persons accused of capital crimes have been conducted under the auspices of the American Bar Association Bar Information Project at the request of:

Oklahoma Indigent Defense System (also on behalf of the American Bar Association Post Conviction Death Penalty Representation Project)
Florida Senate Appropriations Committee and the House Appropriations Committee (also on behalf of the American Bar Association Post Conviction Death Penalty Representation Project)
Florida's Office of the Capital Collateral Representative
North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts
Oklahoma Appellate Defender Program

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