On February 18-19, 2010, the Justice Department held a two-day symposium on what Attorney General Eric Holder called the “crisis” facing the indigent defense system in the United States. This event entitled, “Looking Back, Looking Forward,” was the first federal agency-sponsored examination of indigent defense in a decade. The Justice Department’s appointment of Harvard law professor Laurence H. Tribe marks an effort to improve access to lawyers for those unable to afford one.

(l-r) Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree, House Judiciary Committee Counsel Carol Chodroff, Constitution Project President Virginia Sloan, and Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA)