The Defender Initiative

Robert C. Boruchowitz
Director and Professor from Practice

The Defender Initiative began in 2008 and is an unusual law school-based project aimed at providing better representation for people accused of crimes and facing loss of their liberty in juvenile and other court proceedings and in the process increase fairness in and respect for the courts. The Initiative also advocates for diversion and reclassification of some misdemeanor offenses, including possession of marijuana and suspended driver license cases. This can save money, improve the misdemeanor courts and reduce racial disparity in the criminal justice system. The Initiative is part of the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, whose mission is to advance justice and equality through a unified vision that combines research, advocacy, and education.

The project, led by its Director, Robert C. Boruchowitz, will advance efforts to improve public defense representation for thousands of people in Washington and provide models for application in other states.

Through a combination of public education, research and writing, and strategic litigation, The Defender Initiative will focus on providing counsel in courts that do not currently provide lawyers and on reducing excessive defender workloads that threaten the effectiveness of the right to counsel, fostering a commitment to excellence in representation, and ensuring that defender lawyers with adequate resources are available and prepared to help accused persons at every stage of prosecution.

The Initiative has received funding from the Foundation to Promote Open Society for a new misdemeanor counsel project, which is working to implement the right to counsel in misdemeanor courts by advocating administratively and if necessary by bringing targeted writs and appellate litigation to require courts to provide counsel to eligible accused persons, advocate for alternatives to traditional prosecution that requires counsel, and educate lawyers, judges, the public, and local government officials about the problem and demonstrate possible solutions.