Standard:

Attorneys providing public defense services should participate in regular training programs on criminal defense law, including a minimum of seven hours of continuing legal education annually in areas relating to their public defense practice.

In offices of more than seven attorneys, an orientation and training program for new attorneys and legal interns should be held to inform them of office procedure and policy. All attorneys should be required to attend regular in-house training programs on developments in criminal law, criminal procedure and the forensic sciences. Attorneys in civil commitment and dependency practices should attend training programs in these areas. Offices should also develop manuals to inform new attorneys of the rules and procedures of the courts within their jurisdiction.

Every attorney providing counsel to indigent accused should have the opportunity to attend courses that foster trial advocacy skills and to review professional publications and tapes.

Related Standards:

American Bar Association, Standards for Criminal Justice, 5-1.4.

National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, Task Force on Courts, 1973, Standard 13.16.

National Legal Aid and Defender Association, Standards for Defender Services, Standard V.

National Legal Aid and Defender Association, Guidelines for Negotiating and Awarding Indigent Legal Defense Contracts, 1984, Standard III-17.

Seattle-King County Bar Association Indigent Defense Services Task Force, Guidelines for Accreditation of Defender Agencies, 1982, Guideline Number 3.

National Legal Aid and Defender Association, Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Counsel in Death Penalty Cases, 1988, Standard 9.1.

Commentary:

The American Bar Association Standards for Criminal Justice (5-1.4) describes training programs as "crucial to the delivery of effective defense services." Criminal law is a complex and difficult legal area, and trial practice skills must be carefully developed. Moreover, the consequences of mistakes in defense representation may be substantial, including wrongful conviction and loss of liberty.

Former Chief Justice Warren Burger has estimated that fifty percent of trial lawyers in this country are so lacking in training that their incompetence contributes to the backlog of cases pending in our courts. Lawyers who are poorly prepared in trial techniques hamper the judicial system. Lack of precision in written documents, fumbling oral presentations, the inability to weed out useless motions and the lack of skill in selecting and focusing on key issues all contribute to costly bottlenecks in what should be an orderly and speedy process.

To meet the need for training, programs should be established for both beginning and advanced practitioners, and should emphasize substantive legal subjects as well as effective trial techniques. The National Legal Aid and Defender Association Guidelines for Negotiating and Awarding Indigent Legal Defense Contracts (III-15) urge that the training provided to defenders be no less than is provided to prosecutors and judges in their jurisdiction, and should include continuing legal education programs and the opportunity to review professional publications and tapes.