The Defender Association

NYU's Brennan Center for Justice has featured the Racial Disparity Project in its report, Community Oriented Defense: Stronger Public Defenders [PDF].

"The Racial Disparity Project of The Defender Association in Washington operates the
Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion Program (LEAD), a pre-booking diversion program,
based in the community, that steers individuals accused of low-level drug crimes out of the
criminal justice system and into treatment, reducing the number of minority youth caught
up in the system."

Please see the section titled Principle 4: Fix Systemic Problems, beginning on page 30 of the PDF, for the complete feature.

Race and Drug Law Enforcement in Seattle [PDF] (2004) by Katherine Beckett

Race and Drug Law Enforcement in Seattle [PDF] (2008)

View the survey results (PDF)

View the Program Online (PDF, updated 10/29/2009)

The Defender Association is a non-profit law firm providing public defender services to King County and the City of Seattle in felony, misdemeanor, juvenile, family advocacy, and civil commitment cases, as well as a number of appeals at all levels of the state courts.

The City of Seattle's Legislative Information Service has a reference to the ordinance that established The Defender Association as the provider of legal defense services for indigent defendants in 1969, but the text of the ordinance is not available online.

The Seattle Times noted our 10th anniversary in 1979.

The Defender Association celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2004, and our 35th Anniversary Report is available online. The Seattle P-I also reported the anniversary.

The King County Bar Association has published an article by former director Robert C. Boruchowitz about The Defender Association's 40th anniversary.