Sandra Hankins

Virginia Indigent Defense Commission

The Virginia Indigent Defense Commission (VIDC) was statutorily established in 2004, replacing the Public Defender Commission, to protect the Constitutional right to counsel for people who cannot afford to hire their own lawyer. The VIDC oversees 25 public defender offices and four capital defender offices across Virginia with a central administrative office that certifies attorneys seeking appointments in criminal cases. In addition, the VIDC is responsible for the following: -- Promulgate and enforce the mandatory Standards of Practice for Court-Appointed Counsel in Non-Capital Cases which sets out detailed expectations for attorneys seeking appointments in criminal cases; -- Re-certify attorneys seeking appointments in criminal cases and maintain the certified counsel list; and -- Develop certification training courses. The VIDC strives to provide high quality training to public defender offices and the private court-appointed attorneys to continually improve criminal defense representation to vulnerable citizens of Virginia who are not able to hire an attorney of their choosing. For more information, see VA Code § 19.2-163.01.