Applicant: rhode island public defender john R. Justice loan repayment project abstract rhode island public defender, 160 pine street, providence, RI 02903 goals of the project: the project has…

Applicant: rhode island public defender john R. Justice loan repayment project abstract rhode island public defender, 160 pine street, providence, RI 02903 goals of the project: the project has three discrete goals: (a) to reduce the disincentive to career defense and prosecution that financially burdensome student loans pose for lawyers considering these careers; (B) to increase retention of defenders and prosecutors by providing financial assistance for repayment of student loans, as an offset to what are historically lower salaries than those for lawyers in private practice; and (C) to strike an equitable balance between these two priorities, giving due consideration to "least able to pay" while encouraging long-term service. Numbers of prosecutors and defenders: since the inception of this program in 2010 the prosecutors and public defenders have seen no increases in criminal attorney staffing levels. Fiscal year prosecutors defenders FED. Defenders 2010 65-68[1] 46 3 2019 65 48 3 strategy: the project invokes personalized outreach. Because rhode island is so small geographically, and implements criminal justice primarily through a single statewide prosecuting authority for felonies[2] and a single statewide defender system[3], personal notification of repayment opportunities is possible to every eligible lawyer. There is a single law school which has pledged its full cooperation with outreach efforts.