Updated 10/24/01

Funding Priorities
Eligibility and Funding Criteria
Grants List

0ver thirty-five years ago, the Supreme Court declared that the Constitution's "noble ideal" of equal justice was not met as long as poor people accused of crimes had no lawyer to defend them. Legal counsel, the Court wrote, is a "fundamental right essential to a fair trial." That landmark ruling, Gideon v. Wainwright, required state and local governments to provide legal representation free of charge to criminal defendants unable to afford their own. In 1967, In re Gault extended the right to counsel to minors in juvenile delinquency proceedings.

A generation later, Gideon's promise of equal justice is far from realized. In the United States, public defense too often means a lawyer who is overwhelmed, unqualified or politically com-promised. Although fully 85% of all those arrested in the U.S. cannot afford an attorney and must rely on the government to provide one, most jurisdictions devote only a small fraction of their criminal justice budgets to indigent defense. Accused people sometimes wait three months or more in jail before speaking to a lawyer. Low fees and high case loads discourage attorneys from spending the time necessary to investigate the guilt or social history of the accused. juveniles and those facing capital charges are routinely represented by counsel with no specialized training or experience. Finally, lawyers who rely on patronage for appoint-ments to indigent cases may hesitate to mount a vigorous defense or challenge unjust arrest, trial or sentencing practices in the courtroom.

The national focus on crime in the 1990's aggravated these historical deficiencies. Large budget increases for police and prosecution have swept many more people into the crimi-nal justice system, leaving defenders without resources to mount a vigorous defense for each accused. The consequences of Gideon~ underenforcement-long pre-trial detention, disparate prosecution of criminal laws, wrongful conviction and inappropriate incarceration of substance-addicted and mentally ill people-have serious implications for human, as well as constitutional, rights. Indeed, all are hallmarks of criminal justice in closed and undemocratic societies.

The Open Society Institute works to promote fair administration of justice in the U.S. and in newly emergent democracies abroad. Two U.S. based programs-the Program on Law & Society and the Center on Crime, Communities & Culture-are already supporting efforts to protect judicial independence, improve civil legal services for the poor and expand the range of services available to prisoners returning to their communities. In 2000, OSI launched the Gideon Project to improve the quality of criminal legal advocacy for poor and moderate-income people in the United States.

FUNDING PRIORITIES
The Gideon Project gives grants in four areas that affect both juveniles and adults in the criminal justice system:

1. Advocacy that promotes increased governmental support for the defense function. This may include public education and media projects, grassroots advocacy, defender management training and litigation challenging systemic deficiencies in indigent defense.

2. The creation of effective networks for training, oversight and information-sharing among defense counsel on the state or national level. Favored are projects that institutionalize stan-dards and balanced funding for the appointment of counsel; that centralize training and monitoring of defender programs on a state-wide or regional basis; and that use new tech-nologies to enhance access to counsel and the interests of justice.

3. Expansion of the defense mission to encompass community concerns about public safety and fair administration of justice. Favored are:

• Comprehensive and problem-solving representation that addresses the issues underlying defendants' criminal behavior, and that expand the range of services available to help them lead productive lives. Priority will be given to projects that articulate a strategy for obtain-ing government funding or that leverage the resources of local social service, education or criminal justice agencies.
  
  
• Community-oriented advocacy that promotes fair and effective criminal justice policies. Particularly favored are projects that involve non-lawyer community groups, and projects that address the disparate treatment of racial minorities, juveniles or other vulnerable popu-lations in the legal system. 4. Death penalty representation and reduction. Eligible are projects that seek to expand the pool of qualified capital defense counsel or that articulate innovative strategies for reducing the use of capital punishment as a response to crime. Funding is not available for routine case costs.

ELIGIBILITY AND FUNDING CRITERIA
The Open Society Institute generally makes grants only to tax-exempt organizations as described in Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. OSI does not provide funding for endowments, building construction, annual fund appeals, sectarian religious concerns or political purposes such as lobbying, propaganda or partisan political activity. The Gideon Project does not fund routine capital improvements, legal skills training or individual scholarships or fellowships. The Project also does not make grants to individuals or organizations operating outside of the United States.
For information on OSI fellowships, please visit www.soros.org/crime.