CrimProf Norman Lefstein named 2005 "Champion of Indigent Defense" by National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) has named Norman Lefstein as the 2005 "Champion of Indigent Defense." As Chair of the Indigent Defense Advisory Group of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants (SCLAID) for the past six years, Professor Lefstein has been responsible for overseeing the ABA's efforts to improve indigent defense systems around the country. He is also a four-term Chair of the Indiana Public Defender Commission, a position to which two Indiana governors have appointed him.

The 1961 University of Illinois College of Law graduate is a professor of law and dean emeritus at Indiana University-Indianapolis College of Law. He recently oversaw the research and writing of a comprehensive SCLAID report on the nationwide crisis in indigent defense, Gideon's Broken Promise: America's Continuing Quest for Equal Justice (February 2005).