Ellis, a former state senator, authored the Fair Defense Act. The law required that all criminal courts in Texas adopt formal procedures for providing appointed lawyers to indigent defendants, allowing for prompt appointment of qualified attorneys. He’ll talk about how he views the progress on public defense.

Perhaps the greatest public defense challenge facing Texas today is the lack of rural defense attorneys. Texas has lost over 500 rural defense attorneys in the past seven years. Saddled with an average debt of over $180,000, new attorneys aren’t moving to rural areas in the same numbers. Rural misdemeanor defendants are now four times more likely to go without counsel than their urban counterparts. This discussion will feature the perspectives of attorneys, public defenders and county officials who are grappling with these problems. We’ll also talk about promising solutions for rural Texas.

In this one-on-one interview, death row exoneree Anthony Graves will talk about his life in the justice system and improving public defense in Texas.

Graves will discuss ways in which he says the system is broken and his efforts to get off of death row and walk out of prison a free man. He now works at the Harris County Public Defender’s Office as a director of community outreach, where he’s implemented a project geared toward mentoring defendants and their family members through the criminal system.

In some pockets of the country, public defense looks much the same as it did when Gideon was decided 60 years ago. But that’s changing. Technology, holistic defense and the arrival of regional offices are changing the face of Texas public defense. This discussion will feature lawyers, social workers and technologists who are creating the future of public defense.