Solving the Public Defense Crisis in Kansas

Authors

Malia N. Brink, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law, Deason Criminal Justice Reform CenterFollow
Pamela R. Metzger, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of LawFollow

Files

Description

Kansas has a constitutional obligation to provide counsel to any arrested person who cannot afford to hire a private attorney. But attorney shortages in Kansas threaten this core constitutional right. According to the American Bar Association, there are an average of four attorneys per 1,000 people nationwide. However, only six of Kansas’s 105 counties have two or more attorneys per 1,000 people. In 44 counties, there is just one attorney or fewer per 1,000 residents. The situation is particularly worrisome in rural Kansas. In 2023, nearly half of Kansas’s population lived in rural counties, but 80% of its lawyers lived in its six largest counties. Two rural counties— Wichita County and Hodgeman County—had no attorneys at all.

Publication Date

2-2025

Disciplines

Criminal Law | Criminal Procedure | Law

Recommended Citation

Malia N Brink & Pamela R Metzger, Solving the Public Defense Crisis in Kansas (2025), https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.25172/dc.13