"Any person haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him. This seems to us to be an obvious truth."

Gideon v. Wainwright

House Bill 86

This significant piece of criminal and juvenile justice reform legislation will become effective Sept. 30, 2011.

Public Defender News

►	Heath resident acquitted of allegations in injured baby case (Newark Advocate.com © 1/27/2012) A Heath teenager was acquitted of three felony counts after a judge found there was too much doubt about how a 4-month-old infant sustained serious injuries.
►	Proposal would limit options of defendants (Middletown Journal © 1/16/2012) Conviction rates in southwestern Ohio are almost 80 percent and judges appear to be harsher than juries.
►	Judge or jury? A defendant’s choice (Akron Beacon Journal © 12/17/2011) County prosecutors rate as the most powerful officials in the state. They can take away your liberty. Now they have asked Ohio lawmakers to increase their clout. They want the authority to say no when defendants opt to have their cases tried before a judge instead of a jury
►	FBI: U.S. violent crime down in 2011, fewer murders, rapes (WCBE.org © 12/19/2011) Murders, rapes and other violent crimes dropped sharply in the United States in the first six months of 2011, continuing a downward trend that has lasted 4 1/2 years, the FBI reported on Monday.

›› More: News | Resources

Notice on Ohio Administrative Code Revisions

Chapter 120 of the Ohio Administrative Code was substantially revised, effective October 2009, and those revisions currently appear on the internet via Anderson's Lawriter website. However, the Ohio Public Defender has since identified the need for substantive revisions, so further administrative code changes are expected. In the interim, the Ohio Public Defender will not enforce the administrative code changes made during 2009, and users should continue complying with the previous version of Chapter 120 of the Ohio Administrative Code. Qualification forms and affidavits in use before October 2009 should continue to be used until further notice.

New Financial Disclosure/
Affidavit of Indigency form

We are in the process of revising form OPD-206R, the Financial Disclosure Form/ Affidavit of Indigency. Our goal is to release the revised version of the form in January 2012 and begin enforcing its use on or about April 1, 2012. We will not be enforcing the previously-announced deadline of January 1, 2012 to begin using the form distributed in August 2011. Until the newest form is released and its use is required, you may use either the form revised and released in August 2011, or the form in use before that. Please contact Kathryn Smith with questions.

►	Memorandum regarding revisions
►	Financial Disclosure/Affidavit of Indigency form

CLE for Appointed Counsel

►	Memorandum regarding Indigent Criminal Defense Training Opportunities
►	Upcoming - Indigent Criminal Defense Training Seminars

Adam Walsh Act

►	Ohio Supreme Court declares SB 10 to be punishment, unconstitutional to apply retroactively

›› More: Updates

Book and Gavel Image

Death Row Updates

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Execution postponed for Ohio man in arson death

Another Ohio execution has been postponed as state prison officials continue refining lethal-injection protocol to meet a federal judge’s requirements.

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Condemned man claims innocence in arson death

A man scheduled to die next month for starting a fire that killed his 3-year-old son says new arson science backs up his claim of innocence.

›› More: News | Updates