Mississippi’s Public Defender Office

Dedman School of Law Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center

Mississippi’s Public Defender Office

With expert support from the Deason Center, Mississippi has launched a national model for Day One rural public defense.

The Deason Center’s legislative, technical, and evaluation skills help stakeholders build local solutions to pressing national problems.

What is the Mississippi Pilot Project?

The Mississippi Day One pilot public defender office is a state-funded innovation designed to provide representation within 24 hours of arrest in a deeply rural area where lawyers are scarce. Serving Mississippi’s rural Fifth Circuit Court District, the new Defend the Fifth office (dba Central Defense Initiative) provides prompt, zealous, and continuous representation to people accused of felony offenses.

What Problem is the Pilot Addressing?

In Mississippi, as elsewhere across the country, arrested people often wait in jail for days or weeks to meet with a court-appointed attorney who can defend them. This problem is especially acute in rural areas, where lawyers are scarce and conflicts-of- interest are common. Defend the Fifth tackles these problems by creating a full-time office that covers a wide rural region, bringing new lawyers to the area, and meeting accused people within 24 hours of arrest.

Has the Pilot been Successful?

Defend the Fifth has demonstrably improved systemic fairness and reduced unnecessary incarceration. It has also increased the number of lawyers providing local public defender services, reducing excessive caseloads across the district. While the pilot will run for three-years, the Deason Center’s early analyses show impressive results. Read the Center’s quarterly summaries here:

What is the Deason Center’s Involvement?

Since July of 2024, the Deason Center has worked in close partnership with the Mississippi Office of the State Public Defender, to plan, advocate, launch, and support the nation’s first rural regional Day One public defense office. To support the pilot and facilitate a smooth office launch, Deason staff have taken a “boots on the ground” approach. Staff have observed initial appearances in the 16 local courts, consulted with wardens and staff at four local jails, and met with more than 40 key stakeholders, including local judges, clerks, prosecutors, and indigent defense providers. The team also prepared and circulated information about the pilot office’s goals and its Day One practice philosophy.

Since the office’s launch in October of 2025, the Deason Center has provided technical assistance and evaluation services. Center staff have trained pilot office attorneys and staff in Day One representation, assisted with the configuration of a case management system, generated a randomized case intake schedule, and published preliminary analyses of case outcomes. The Center continues to provide practice support and anticipates conducting a cumulative evaluation of pilot program outcomes.