II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 850 

To incentivize States and localities to improve access to justice, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 16, 2023 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To incentivize States and localities to improve access to 

justice, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Providing a Quality 

5 Defense Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘Quality Defense Act of 

6 2023’’. 

7 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

8 The purposes of this Act are— 

9 (1) to protect the constitutional rights to due 

10 process and a fair criminal prosecution under the 


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1 Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the 

2 Constitution of the United States, including the 

3 right to counsel, in State and local courts, as articu4 lated by the Supreme Court of the United States in 

5 Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), and its 

6 progeny; 

7 (2) to protect the right to counsel for juveniles 

8 in delinquency proceedings, including the determina9 tion of whether a juvenile should be tried as an 

10 adult, under the Due Process Clause of the Four11 teenth Amendment as articulated by the Supreme 

12 Court in In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967); 

13 (3) to collect data related to public defense in 

14 order to facilitate evidence-based reforms and im15 provements; and 

16 (4) to ensure that compensation for public de17 fenders and panel attorneys reflects the constitu18 tional guarantee of the right to counsel and does not 

19 disincentivize attorneys from pursuing a career in 

20 public defense. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act, except as otherwise provided in section 

23 7: 


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1 (1) APPLICABLE PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OF2 FICE.—The term ‘‘applicable public defender’s of3 fice’’, with respect to an eligible entity that is— 

4 (A) a public defender’s office, means the 

5 eligible entity; 

6 (B) a State or unit of local government, 

7 means— 

8 (i) the public defender’s office of the 

9 eligible entity; and 

10 (ii) a public defender’s office of a unit 

11 of local government within the eligible enti12 ty; and 

13 (C) a Tribal organization, means the pub14 lic defender’s office of the Tribal organization. 

15 (2) ASSIGNED COUNSEL PROGRAM.—The term 

16 ‘‘assigned counsel program’’ means a program or 

17 procedure by which a court assigns a panel attorney 

18 to provide quality legal representation to a client. 

19 (3) CASE.—The term ‘‘case’’ includes all 

20 charges against an individual involved in a single in21 cident of alleged criminal or delinquent conduct. 

22 (4) CASE TYPE.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘case type’’ 

24 means the classification of a client’s case into 


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1 1 of the following categories, as defined under 

2 State or local law: 

3 (i) Juvenile. 

4 (ii) Misdemeanor. 

5 (iii) Felony for which the death pen6 alty may be imposed. 

7 (iv) Felony for which a sentence of up 

8 to life imprisonment may be imposed. 

9 (v) Felony not described in clause (iii) 

10 or (iv). 

11 (vi) Violation of probation or parole. 

12 (vii) School proceeding. 

13 (viii) Other. 

14 (B) MULTIPLE CHARGES.—If a case in15 volves multiple charges, the case type shall be 

16 determined according to the most serious 

17 charge under the applicable State or local law. 

18 (5) CORRESPONDING PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE.— 

19 The term ‘‘corresponding prosecutor’s office’’, with 

20 respect to a public defender’s office or panel attor21 neys, means a prosecutorial unit that appears ad22 verse to the public defender’s office or panel attor23 neys in criminal proceedings. 

24 (6) DATA GRANT.—The term ‘‘data grant’’ 

25 means a grant awarded under section 4(a)(1). 


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1 (7) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti2 ty’’ means a State, unit of local government, Tribal 

3 organization, public defender’s office, or assigned 

4 counsel program that— 

5 (A) in the case of an application for a data 

6 grant, has not, as of the date of application, de7 veloped and implemented a data collection proc8 ess that meets the requirements under section 

9 4(b)(2); and 

10 (B) in the case of an application for a hir11 ing grant, as of the date of the application, 

12 has— 

13 (i) received a data grant; and 

14 (ii) fulfilled the requirements of the 

15 data grant. 

16 (8) HIRING GRANT.—The term ‘‘hiring grant’’ 

17 means a grant awarded under section 4(a)(2). 

18 (9) MOST SERIOUS CHARGE.—The term ‘‘most 

19 serious charge’’, with respect to a case that involves 

20 multiple charges, means the charge that carries the 

21 most severe or lengthy maximum penalty. 

22 (10) PANEL ATTORNEY.—The term ‘‘panel at23 torney’’ means a private attorney assigned by the 

24 court who serves the same function as a public deVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Mar 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S850.IS S850

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1 fender, without regard to whether the role is full2 time or part-time. 

3 (11) PROSECUTOR.—The term ‘‘prosecutor’’— 

4 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec5 tion 3001(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime 

6 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 

7 U.S.C. 10671(b)); and 

8 (B) includes a full-time employee of a 

9 Tribal organization who— 

10 (i) is continually licensed to practice 

11 law; and 

12 (ii) carries out activities equivalent to 

13 those of a prosecutor referred to in sub14 paragraph (A). 

15 (12) PUBLIC DEFENDER.—The term ‘‘public 

16 defender’’— 

17 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec18 tion 3001(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime 

19 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 

20 U.S.C. 10671(b)); and 

21 (B) includes an attorney employed by a 

22 Tribal organization who— 

23 (i) is continually licensed to practice 

24 law; and 


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1 (ii) carries out activities equivalent to 

2 those of a public defender referred to in 

3 subparagraph (A). 

4 (13) PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE; PUBLIC DE5 FENDER’S OFFICE.—The terms ‘‘prosecutor’s office’’ 

6 and ‘‘public defender’s office’’ mean an agency or of7 fice of a State, unit of local government, or Tribal 

8 organization that employs prosecutors or public de9 fenders, respectively. 

10 (14) RESOLUTION.—The term ‘‘resolution’’, 

11 with respect to a case, means the manner in which 

12 the case concludes, including by— 

13 (A) dismissal by the prosecutor; 

14 (B) dismissal based on a motion, such as 

15 a motion to suppress evidence; 

16 (C) a plea agreement at first appearance; 

17 (D) a plea agreement entered into at any 

18 point in the criminal prosecution other than 

19 first appearance; 

20 (E) diversion; or 

21 (F) a bench or jury trial and the outcome 

22 of the trial, including the sentence if the de23 fendant is convicted of any offense charged. 

24 (15) SECONDARY CHARGE.—The term ‘‘sec25 ondary charge’’, with respect to a case that involves 


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1 multiple charges, means any charge that is not the 

2 most serious charge. 

3 (16) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean4 ing given the term in section 901 of title I of the 

5 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 

6 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10251). 

7 (17) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Trib8 al organization’’ has the meaning given the term 

9 ‘‘tribal organization’’ in section 4(l) of the Indian 

10 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 

11 (25 U.S.C. 5304(l)). 

12 (18) UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 

13 ‘‘unit of local government’’ has the meaning given 

14 the term in section 901 of title I of the Omnibus 

15 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 

16 U.S.C. 10251). 

17 SEC. 4. PUBLIC DEFENSE GRANT PROGRAM. 

18 (a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Attorney General may 

19 award a grant to an eligible entity to— 

20 (1) develop, implement, and update a data col21 lection process under subsection (b)(2); or 

22 (2) hire additional public defense attorneys or 

23 carry out related activities under subsection (c)(3). 

24 (b) DATA GRANTS.— 


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1 (1) TERM.—The term of a data grant shall be 

2 3 fiscal years. 

3 (2) REQUIRED DATA COLLECTION.—An eligible 

4 entity that receives a data grant shall develop and 

5 implement a process for collecting the following data 

6 for attorneys employed by each applicable public de7 fender’s office, and for panel attorneys within the ju8 risdiction of the eligible entity, during each fiscal 

9 year of the grant period: 

10 (A) The mean number of hours per month 

11 worked per attorney. 

12 (B) The mean number of hours spent per 

13 month by an attorney on— 

14 (i) discovery and investigation, includ15 ing witness interviews; 

16 (ii) court time, including preparation 

17 and appearances; 

18 (iii) client communication and care; 

19 (iv) research and writing, including 

20 motions practice; and 

21 (v) administrative work. 

22 (C) The number of cases handled, broken 

23 down by— 

24 (i) case type, including by— 

25 (I) the most serious charge; and 


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1 (II) each secondary charge; 

2 (ii) the race, ethnicity, age, and gen3 der of the client; 

4 (iii) the date on which the attorney 

5 was appointed to the case; 

6 (iv) whether the case remained open 

7 as of the last day of the fiscal year, and 

8 if not, the date on which the case was 

9 closed; and 

10 (v) the resolution of the case, if the 

11 case was concluded by the last day of the 

12 fiscal year. 

13 (D) Any other information as the Attorney 

14 General determines appropriate. 

15 (3) RENEWAL.—Upon application from an eligi16 ble entity that received a data grant, the Attorney 

17 General may award a subsequent data grant to the 

18 eligible entity for an additional term that may begin 

19 upon termination of the initial data grant. 

20 (c) HIRING GRANTS.— 

21 (1) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—An eligible 

22 entity desiring a hiring grant shall submit to the At23 torney General an application that includes, as of 

24 the date of the application— 


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1 (A) the caseload and number of, and pay 

2 scale for, attorneys and other staff of each ap3 plicable public defender’s office; and 

4 (B)(i) the number of panel attorneys with5 in the jurisdiction of the eligible entity; 

6 (ii) the total number of cases assigned to 

7 the attorneys described in clause (i); and 

8 (iii) the average number of hours spent on 

9 a case by an attorney described in clause (i). 

10 (2) TERM.—The term of a hiring grant shall be 

11 3 years. 

12 (3) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity may use 

13 a hiring grant to— 

14 (A) hire additional public defenders; 

15 (B) increase compensation for public de16 fenders or panel attorneys to achieve pay parity 

17 with corresponding prosecutor’s offices; 

18 (C) hire case workers, social workers, in19 vestigators, or paralegals; or 

20 (D) establish or fund a loan assistance 

21 program for public defenders. 

22 (4) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—An eligible 

23 entity may not use a hiring grant to supplant funds 

24 that the eligible entity would otherwise have used for 


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1 any authorized purpose described in paragraph (3) 

2 during the grant period. 

3 (5) REQUIRED DATA COLLECTION.—During 

4 each fiscal year of the grant period, an eligible entity 

5 that receives a hiring grant shall collect the data de6 scribed in subsection (b)(2). 

7 (d) SUBMISSION REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 60 

8 days after the end of a fiscal year, an eligible entity that 

9 receives a data grant or hiring grant shall submit to the 

10 Attorney General the data described in subsection (b)(2) 

11 for that fiscal year. 

12 (e) MULTIPLE DEFENDANTS.—If a prosecutor’s 

13 charging document states that multiple defendants were 

14 involved in a single incident of alleged criminal or delin15 quent conduct, each defendant shall be considered a sepa16 rate case for purposes of the collection of data described 

17 in subsection (b)(2). 

18 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General 

20 to carry out this section— 

21 (1) $250,000,000 for each of the first 5 fiscal 

22 years beginning after the date of enactment of this 

23 Act; and 

24 (2) such sums as may be necessary for each fis25 cal year thereafter. 


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1 SEC. 5. STUDIES. 

2 (a) STUDIES.— 

3 (1) CASELOAD LIMITS STUDY.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—After the end of the 

5 first fiscal year for which data grants are 

6 awarded, the Attorney General, acting through 

7 the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assist8 ance and the Director of the Office for Access 

9 to Justice, shall— 

10 (i) conduct a study to analyze the 

11 data submitted to the Attorney General 

12 under section 4(d) for that fiscal year re13 lated to public defender and panel attorney 

14 caseloads and correlated outcomes; 

15 (ii) review studies, reports, and other 

16 data published or provided by professional 

17 organizations, legal associations, and bar 

18 associations related to public defender and 

19 panel attorney caseloads; and 

20 (iii) develop and publish best practices 

21 and recommendations for setting public de22 fender and panel attorney caseloads based 

23 on the information described in clauses (i) 

24 and (ii) to ensure— 

25 (I) reasonably effective assistance 

26 of counsel pursuant to constitutional 


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1 standards and prevailing professional 

2 norms; and 

3 (II) competent representation 

4 pursuant to applicable rules of profes5 sional responsibility. 

6 (B) CONTINUING STUDY.—Not less fre7 quently than once every 5 years, the Attorney 

8 General shall— 

9 (i) study and review new studies, re10 ports, or other data as described in sub11 paragraph (A)(ii); and 

12 (ii) update the best practices and rec13 ommendations under subparagraph 

14 (A)(iii). 

15 (2) COMPENSATION STUDY.—Not later than 3 

16 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

17 Attorney General, acting through the Director of 

18 Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Director of the 

19 Office for Access to Justice, shall— 

20 (A) conduct a national study of public de21 fender salaries and panel attorney rates, using 

22 prosecutors’ salaries as one benchmark; and 

23 (B) develop and publish best practices and 

24 recommendations relating to compensation of 

25 public defenders and panel attorneys. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General 

3 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section. 

4 SEC. 6. STATE DATA COLLECTION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—For any fiscal year beginning 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, a State that re7 ceives funds under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the 

8 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 

9 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.) may submit to the Office for Access 

10 to Justice of the Department of Justice data on, with re11 spect to criminal cases heard by a court of the State or 

12 of a unit of local government in the State during that fis13 cal year, the number of cases for which a defendant was 

14 represented in court by a public defender or panel attor15 ney, broken down by— 

16 (1) the most serious charge and the total num17 ber of secondary charges in each case; and 

18 (2) race, ethnicity, age, and gender of the de19 fendant. 

20 (b) APPLICABLE CRIMINAL OFFENSES.—A State 

21 that elects to submit data under subsection (a) shall in22 clude data with respect to— 

23 (1) criminal offenses for which a term of im24 prisonment of more than 1 year may be imposed; 


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1 (2) criminal offenses for which a term of im2 prisonment of 1 year or less may be imposed, includ3 ing misdemeanors, traffic violations, and violations 

4 of municipal ordinances; and 

5 (3) acts of juvenile delinquency or juvenile sta6 tus offenses for which any term of detention may be 

7 imposed. 

8 (c) FUNDING.—A State that receives funds under 

9 subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con10 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10151 et 

11 seq.) may apply for, and the Attorney General may award, 

12 a 5 percent increase in those funds, to be used by the 

13 State to collect and provide to the Office for Access to 

14 Justice of the Department of Justice the data described 

15 in subsection (a) of this section. 

16 SEC. 7. FUNDING FOR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. 

17 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘eligible 

18 entity’’ means an entity that is— 

19 (1) an organization— 

20 (A) described in paragraph (3) or (6) of 

21 section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

22 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 

23 501(a) of such Code; or 

24 (B) funded by a State or unit of local gov25 ernment; or 


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1 (2) a State, unit of local government, Indian 

2 Tribal government, or political subdivision of an In3 dian Tribe. 

4 (b) GRANTS.—The Attorney General shall award 

5 grants to eligible entities to provide a comprehensive edu6 cational program to public defenders and panel attorneys 

7 that offers— 

8 (1) ongoing training and support; and 

9 (2) programming that includes— 

10 (A) skills training, including pretrial prac11 tice, negotiation skills, trial skills, and sen12 tencing advocacy; 

13 (B) client-centered values; 

14 (C) implicit bias training; 

15 (D) leadership development; and 

16 (E) ongoing support to reinforce the train17 ing curriculum. 

18 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General 

20 to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of the first 

21 5 fiscal years beginning after the date of enactment of 

22 this Act. 

Æ 


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