The History of Public Defense in Kansas

Kansas has a long history of promising the right to counsel, but there is still much work to be done to make those promises a reality for people who are accused of committing crimes.

In addition to the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution, Section 10 of the Kansas Bill of Rights also guarantees criminal defendants the assistance of counsel. And dating back to the era of Kansas statehood, our statutes have further spelled out that right for indigent people, with Chapter 82, Section 160 of the General Statutes of 1868 providing that, “If any person, about to be arraigned upon an indictment or information for a felony, be without counsel to conduct his defense, and be unable to employ any, it shall be the duty of the court to assign him counsel....” But while the right was recognized early on, it was not until after the landmark Gideon v. Wainwright decision, in 1963, that anything resembling our modern public defender system existed.

The most current iteration of public defense in Kansas – the Board of Indigents’ Defense or “BIDS” – was created by statute in 1982. BIDS oversees both Kansas public defender offices and assigned counsel in areas of the state without public defender coverage.

But funding for public defense has continued to be an issue.

On the assigned counsel side, in Stephan v. Smith, a 1987 case, the Kansas Supreme Court overturned the mandatory appointment process for assigned counsel and ruled the state "has an obligation to pay appointed counsel such sums as will fairly compensate the attorney...at a fair rate which is not confiscatory, considering overhead and expenses." In essence, the Court ordered an end to the long-standing reliance on the goodwill of the bar for indigent defense and instructed the state to pay reasonable compensation to attorneys assigned to represent indigent people charged with crimes. BIDS has continued to advocate for assigned counsel to be fairly paid for their work.

Following the Smith decision, public defenders became more cost-effective than assigned counsel. Public defender offices also have other advantages, such as the ability to accrue institutional knowledge and advocate collectively. Consequently, BIDS has steadily opened more public defender offices throughout the state in order to provide a zealous defense for all Kansans charged with felonies.

But public defender offices have also had funding difficulties. In 2019, it was reported that one in four public defenders had resigned in the prior year primarily due to issues of high caseload and low pay. In response, BIDS Executive Director, Heather Cessna, created a three-phase plan to fix public defense in Kansas, and — as a result of that advocacy — in 2021, BIDS was allocated an additional 7.7 million dollars, a twenty-two percent increase and the highest year-to-year increase in BIDS history to that point. In 2022, that record was topped by an 8.6 million dollar increase in spending on public defense, which helped bring BIDS employee salaries closer to those of similarly situated prosecutors, helped raise the assigned counsel hourly rate, and will be used to address long-neglected infrastructure needs.

Even with these increases, though, there is still much work to be done. Each year BIDS leadership will continue to advocate for adequate salaries, staffing, and training so that our public defenders and staff can fulfill our mission to give our clients the zealous defense they deserve.

Scroll below to learn more about the history of each of our individual public defender offices.

1972

The first two public defender offices were opened in Topeka and Junction City in 1972.
The Third Judicial Public Defender Office, in Topeka, represents people charged with felonies in Shawnee County.
The North Central Regional Public Defender Office, in Junction City, represents people charged with felonies in Riley, Geary, Marion, Clay, Dickinson, and Morris Counties.
Photo: The Third Judicial Public Defender Office, taken in June 2023.
1973

The Salina Regional Public Defender Office was opened in 1973.
That office represents people charged with felonies in Saline County. It also handles conflict cases in Dickinson County, and cases where someone has been charged with a high level felony in Russell, Ellsworth, Mitchell, Cloud, Jewell, Republic, Ottawa, and McPherson Counties.
Photo: New Salina Chief Public Defender, Justin Bravi, stands with retiring Salina Chief Public Defender, Mark Dinkel, at Dinkel's retirement party in 2022.
1984

The Sedgwick County Public Defender Office opened in Wichita. That office represents people charged with felonies in Sedgwick County.
Photo: Lead Assistant Public Defender, Jorge DeHoyos, hard at work in the Sedgwick County Public Defender Office in 2022.
1985

The Appellate Defender Office, located in Topeka, was created to represent people with cases on appeal.
In response to the re-enactment of the death penalty in 1994, the Appellate Defender took on the additional responsibility of representing people in death penalty appeals in 1998, when the first such appeal was docketed in the Kansas Supreme Court.
Photo: A group of the original appellate defenders having lunch together, shortly after the office opened in 1985.
1989

The Tenth Judicial District Public Defender Office opened in Olathe. That office represents people charged with felonies in Johnson County.
Photo: A celebratory cake from the Tenth Judicial District Office’s 25th Anniversary celebration in 2014.
1994

The Western Regional Public Defender Office opened in Garden City. That office represents people charged with felonies in Western Kansas.
Photo: The attorneys and staff of the Western Regional Public Defender Office in late 2021.
1995

The Office of Capital Coordinator was established in response to the 1994 legislature’s re-enactment of the death penalty. That office is now called the Death Penalty Defense Unit (DPDU), and it continues to represent people charged with capital murder.
Photo: Capital Public Defender, Tim Frieden, counsels a client in a capital case.
1996

Satellite public defender offices were created to represent people charged with felonies in Reno, Miami, and Seward Counties.
Photo: The Reno County Courthouse.
1997

The Southeast Kansas Regional Public Defender Office opened in Chanute. Eventually expanding to include both a Chanute office and a satellite office in Independence, the Southeast Kansas public defender represents people charged with felonies in Allen, Neosho, Wilson, Woodson, and Greenwood Counties. The Chanute office also represents people charged with high level felonies in Coffey, Anderson, and Bourbon Counties.
Photo: The Southeast Kansas Regional Public Defender Office today.
1997

The Northeast Kansas Conflicts Public Defender Office, located in Topeka, also opened in 1997. The Conflict Office represents people charged with high level felonies in Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson, Pottawatomie, Wabaunsee, Osage, and Lyon counties. The Conflicts Office also represents people in Shawnee County where the Topeka public defender has a conflict of interest that would bar them from representing a particular person.
Photo: The Northeast Kansas Conflicts Public Defender Office battle planning their dockets for the upcoming week in 2022.
2000

The Reno County Public Defender Office was consolidated as a regional office. It represents people charged with felonies in Reno County, as well as people charged with higher level felonies in Rice, Barton, and Stafford counties. The Reno County office is also on call to represent people charged with higher level felonies in other counties in west-central Kansas.
Photo: The Reno County Public Defender Office today.
2001

Because of the volume and scope of capital direct appeals, the Capital Appeals and Conflicts Defender Office was established separately from the Appellate Defender to take over representation of people charged with capital murder in the Kansas appellate courts. While this office was located in Topeka for many years, in 2023 it was moved to Lawrence.
Photo: Debra Wilson, Capital Appellate Defender, stands on the steps of the United States Supreme Court with co-counsel, Neal Katyal and Fred Liu, after the arguments in Kansas v. Carr in 2015.
2003

In order to further build capacity to represent people charged with capital murder — as well as to allow for representation of co-defendants — the Capital Appellate Defender Office was opened in 2003. The Capital Appellate Defender Office is located in Topeka.
Photo: Attorneys and staff of the Capital Appellate Defender Office posed for a photo after an oral argument in September 2023.
2009

The Sedgwick County Conflicts Office, located in Wichita, opened in 2009. The Conflict Office represents people charged with high level felonies in Sedgwick County. The Conflicts Office also represents people in Sedgwick County where the Sedgwick County Public Defender Office has a conflict of interest that would bar them from representing a particular person.
Photo: The Sedgwick County Conflicts Office today.
2016

The Kansas Capital Habeas Defender Office was created to represent people charged with capital murder in their post-conviction proceedings.
Photo: Capital Habeas Defender Office attorneys, Jeff Dazey and Julia Spainhour, along with their DPDU counterpart Peter Conley, taking a break while attending a capital training in California in 2022.
2023

The Seventh Judicial District Public Defender Office opened in Lawrence. That office represents people charged with felonies in Douglas County.
Photo: Attorneys and staff from the Seventh Judicial District Public Defender Office, along with fellow public defenders from surrounding offices, participated in a public reading of the Constitution at the Douglas County Courthouse in 2023.
2023

After hearing public comment, the Board voted to open a public defender office in Wyandotte County. That office has been funded by the Kansas Legislature, but a specific opening date is still forthcoming.
Photo: The map of Kansas counties in the Kansas State Capitol Building.
2023

After hearing public comment, the Board voted to open a public defender office in the 11th Judicial District (which includes Crawford, Cherokee, and Labette Counties in Southeast Kansas). That office has been funded by the Kansas Legislature, but a specific opening date is still forthcoming.
Photo: The Crawford County Courthouse in Girard, Kansas.