- An handbook on early access to legal representation has just been published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and can be found here. The report notes that "Even in countries where the law provides for a right of early access to a lawyers, effective access to legal advice and assistance at the early stages of the criminal justice process is often the exception rather than the rule." (Page 3.)
- Public defenders lack information and training in how to handle geriatric clients, state the authors of a new study, yet they also 'generally serve as an older adult's first and primary contact in the system'. The study, in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, said legal professionals tend to lack knowledge in four key areas: age-related health issues, the identification of cognitive impairment, the assessment of safety risks for older individuals, and the optimization of services on release from jail. The study can be found here.
- Ontario County is recruiting a conflict defender according to recent coverage in the Finger Lakes Times.
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