Data tool tracks judges' rulings | Midsize firm growth linked to fee restraint | Does the US need a defender general?

ABA Journal latest headlines

More law schools are covering bar review costs: Is it improving pass rates?

Oct 20, 2016, 8:30 am CDT

Kansas attorney general apologizes for Dred Scott citation in abortion brief

Oct 20, 2016, 8:01 am CDT

Assistant prosecutor secretly taped DA accused of aiding criminal defendant

Oct 20, 2016, 8:00 am CDT

Think higher billing rates are the key to higher law firm revenue? Think again, report says

Oct 20, 2016, 7:00 am CDT

Data on judges' tendencies featured in new predictive analytics tool from Bloomberg Law

Oct 19, 2016, 5:05 pm CDT

Judge should be removed from office for 'aggression and bigotry,' state high court says

Oct 19, 2016, 2:40 pm CDT

Does the US need a defender general?

Oct 19, 2016, 1:15 pm CDT

Kansas brief cites Dred Scott decision in defending abortion law

Oct 19, 2016, 1:11 pm CDT

Judge: My probable cause decision 'had the most tragic result possible'

Oct 19, 2016, 11:43 am CDT

Pro wrestlers' suit 'shamelessly plagiarizes' from NFL concussion complaint, sanctions motion says

Oct 19, 2016, 10:29 am CDT

Petition seeks ouster of judge who sentenced man to 60 days for incest with 12-year-old daughter

Oct 19, 2016, 9:12 am CDT

In the Magazine

>From the October 2016 Issue:

Question of the Week

Does the US need a defender general?

In a column this week in Indiana Lawyer, Valparaiso University Law School Dean Andrea Lyon posits that the United States, which has an attorney general and a solicitor general, should also have a defender general.

Congress and the executive branch “can and do turn to the attorney general for her input on statutory and other concerns,” Lyon writes. “But there isn’t an office that can represent the concerns of the defense, their families and their communities. Defendants and defense attorneys need a representative at the executive level who can collaborate on major policy issues, establish national and statewide standards, and coordinate training efforts within the criminal justice system.”

So this week, we’d like to ask you: Does the U.S. need a defender general? Or how else do you think government could improve the federal justice system?

Answer in the comments.

Read the answers to last week’s question: Should lawyers be able to practice freely outside their home states?

Featured answer:

Posted by B.D: “There should be no barriers to entry anywhere in the U.S. That is particularly true since most of the bar has now taken a multistate exam of some sort to get admitted. I have many clients across the country who I can only serve at home and that shouldn’t be the case. Other rules of law and ethics factor into the matter to address competence and familiarity with the jurisdiction so in this day and age it serves no real purpose.”

Do you have an idea for a future question of the week? If so, contact us.