For more than three decades, NLADA has developed national standards for indigent defense systems and professionals. "The key to uniform quality in all essential government functions," standards are an essential tool in the fight for improving indigent defense services and resources. U.S. Department of Justice.

There are standards governing attorney qualifications, attorney performance, and system administration. Standards can also be classified according to

• geographic applicability (national, state or local)
• method of adoption (e.g., by state statute, by supreme court rule or decision, by state or local public defender organization or oversight commission, by incorporation into a contract for public defense services, by national, state or local bar organization, or by ad hoc standards-based management audit)
• enforceability (e.g., linked to funding, to eligibility for appointment, or informally aspirational)
• type of delivery system (public defender, assigned counsel, or contract system)
• type of case (e.g., felony, capital, juvenile, or defendants with mental illness)

Examples:

• Indiana: Standards Tied to State Funding
  "We should follow [Indiana's] example."
  - Attorney General Janet Reno, June 29, 2000
• Ohio: Supreme Court Capital Standards, Tied to State Funding
• California: National Standards Applied Through a Management Audit
• Louisiana: Limited State Standards

The Ten Commandments of Public Defense Delivery Systems
an annotated distillation of the 10 most fundamental systemic standards, clear and concise enough for busy policymakers.

Parity: The Failsafe Standard