Take Action
Tell Your Story
Volunteer
Get email alerts
Register to Vote Online
Find out who represents you
right donate
Juvenile Indigent Defense
Juvenile indigent defense in Texas is largely funded by individual counties, each maintaining their own juvenile public defense delivery system.  Meeting State standards, each county Juvenile Board sets its own guidelines and procedures for determining indigence and assigning counsel.  Children (ages 10 through 16) held in detention, whose parents or guardians are found to be indigent by the court, have a right to appointed counsel during detention hearings and throughout adjudication.
 
 
Reports
 

Ten Core Principles for Providing Quality Delinquency Representation - This 2nd Edition document by the National Juvenile Defender Center and National Legal Aid & Defender Association emphasizes the need for specialization in defense services for juveniles and identifies 10 key criterion for state and local defense delivery systems to consider in the provision of indigent defense services to children. (July 2008)

 
Indigent Defense in the Texas Juvenile Justice System - A joint publication by the Task Force on Indigent Defense and Texas Juvenile Probation Commission highlighting the key provisions of the Texas Fair Defense Act.  (June 2007)
 
 
Selling Justice Short: Juvenile Indigent Defense in Texas - A report on juvenile indigent defense practices in Texas by Texas Appleseed.  (October 2000)
 
 
 
 
Resources
 
 
 
 
  • Texas Juvenile Probation Commission provides useful information relevant to Juvenile Justice in Texas including current legal and legislative information and a wide range of publications.
 
  • The National Juvenile Defender Center provides excellent coverage of juvenile indigent defense, including comparative state data, state specific assessments, and sample legislation and testimony for advocacy in improving juvenile indigent defense systems.  The following resource guides were written by the National Juvenile Defender Center:

Juvenile Defender Center Resource Guide – This resource guide is produced annually for distribution at the Juvenile Defender Leadership Summit and includes a compilation of law review articles, studies, case briefs, court decisions, and other information relevant to juvenile defense published in the preceding year. (2007)

Juvenile Defender Delinquency Notebook, 2nd Ed. - The National Juvenile Defender Center’s Juvenile Defender Delinquency Notebook is a comprehensive guide to improving client advocacy efforts and serves as a valuable training tool incorporating skills and strategies specific to handling juvenile cases. (2006)

***