‘A Good Read’ About Public Defenders

Bracewell’s Paul Shechtman recently reviewed Sara Mayeux’s book “Free Justice: A History of the Public Defender in Twentieth-Century America” for the New York Law Journal.

Shechtman calls Mayeux’s historical account of the public defender from the late 19th century until the 1970s “a good read” that deserves to be reviewed in the Law Journal.

Mayeux devotes a considerable part of her book to what she calls the “Supreme Court’s doctrinal elevation of counsel.” Shechtman says that “much of it should be familiar to lawyers who took a criminal procedure class,” but adds that “Mayeux tells the story well, adding new details along the way.”

Download Shechtman’s entire NYLJ “Lawyer’s Bookshelf” review below.