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HistoryPrior to 1972, all indigent defense services in New Hampshire were provided by private attorneys assigned by judges at random, oftentimes lawyers who lacked the experience or training necessary to handle serious criminal cases. The system, while informal and simple, lacked quality controls, caseload limits, eligibility standards, training requirements, and oversight. As criminal law became more complex, criminal penalties more severe, and caseloads of appointed counsel larger, a growing consensus emerged that a dedicated and professional corps of attorneys was needed to meet the Constitutional mandate of providing effective assistance of counsel for the indigent accused.
In 1972, New Hampshire Legal Assistance responded to this demand for a more formal system by creating the Public Defender Program. This pilot project, located in Merrimack County, was designed to provide representation in appointed cases through the use of salaried defenders whose full-time responsibilities concerned providing criminal defense services to the poor. The criminal justice system responded favorably to this initiative, spurring NHLA to continue to expand the geographic scope of the project, hiring more staff, and increasing its statewide share of the appointed criminal and delinquency work.
In 1985, all of the criminal-defense-related services provided by NHLA were transferred to a new and separate organization called the New Hampshire Public Defender. The Public Defender’s founders formed this private, nonprofit corporation for the purpose of “provid[ing] quality representation of indigents who are guaranteed the right to counsel by Part I, Article 15 of the New Hampshire Constitution, the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and N.H.R.S.A. 604-A and 604-B.”
Since its beginning as a pilot project of NHLA, and then since the founding of NHPD as a stand-alone institution, the Public Defender has earned a reputation for providing reliable, skilled, and professional representation to the indigent accused. This reputation for quality provided support for the expansion of NHPD, and, since 1997, the Public Defender has been providing all New Hampshire Courts with access to capable, well-trained attorneys for the poor in criminal cases.
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