Welcome to the Justice Fund


The right to counsel - fundamental to justice...

People who cannot afford to hire a lawyer when accused of a crime have the right to publicly-paid counsel. There is a constitutional or statutory right to counsel in certain other cases as well. The system for providing these services in New York State is broken. The resulting unfairness affects the safety and liberties of public defense clients and all New Yorkers.

The Justice Fund lobbies and advocates for change that will improve the quality of public defense services, as well as for alternatives to incarceration, a more just and equitable prison system, prison reform, and to improve reentry systems.

Our current major project is the Campaign for an Independent Public Defense Commission.

For more about the Campaign, click here.