Innovating Criminal Justice Reform from Day One

Across the country, thousands of newly arrested people languish in jail without seeing a lawyer or a judge. In some places, people wait weeks or months for a lawyer’s help. The Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center is tackling this crisis. The Center’s national Day One campaign champions transformative change in the earliest stages of the criminal process. With a particular focus on mid-sized and rural legal systems, the campaign employs a wide range of advocacy strategies to promote:

• First appearance in court within 24 hours of arrest
• A lawyer’s assistance before, and during, initial appearance
• Continuous and active representation until a case is resolved.

To date, the Day One campaign has achieved substantial Day One reforms in Mississippi, North Dakota, Kansas, Texas, and Arkansas.

Mississippi – Catalyzing State Investment in Regional Rural Day One Public Defense

Working with the Office of the State Public Defender (OSPD), the Deason Center has developed a groundbreaking pilot project that establishes a regional Day One public defender office in one of Mississippi’s most rural areas. In partnership with OSPD and local stakeholders, the Day One team helped to identify the pilot site and draft the pilot’s proposal. Team members traveled to Mississippi several times to build a coalition of supporters from the statehouse to local courthouses. The Center’s work helped catalyze the first substantial state investment in rural trial-level public defense—a nearly $700,000 appropriation for a regional pilot office. Training and technical support from the Day One team will help the pilot to adopt a client-centered, data-driven approach that produces high-quality results and rigorous evaluation metrics.

North Dakota – Legislating a Presumption of Indigence for Detainees at First Appearance

In April of 2025, North Dakota enacted SB 2226, which creates a presumption of indigence for any person who is incarcerated at the time of their initial court appearance. This presumption ensures that every detained person has the right to the assistance of counsel at their first moment in court. Importantly, SB 2226 also includes nearly a half million dollars of funding to implement this reform. Deason Center experts played an integral role in this legislative success. As members of a working group that drafted the relevant legislative recommendations, the Deason Center provided research, policy guidance, and national perspective. Importantly, the Center persuaded the working group that early representation reduces pretrial detention, improves case outcomes, and protects due process. The resulting legislation closes a critical gap in constitutional rights for accused people across North Dakota.

Kansas – Initiating Counsel at First Appearance Programs and Combatting Rural Scarcity

In Kansas, the Deason Center worked closely with the Kansas Board of Indigent Defense Services (BIDS) to launch the state’s first counsel-at-first-appearance programs in felony offices. As part of that support, Deason Center experts conducted on-site trainings and provided models for Day One forms for initial appearance data collection. Because a shortage of rural attorneys presents a significant barrier to providing counsel at first appearance, the Center provided BIDS and the Kansas Supreme Court’s Rural Justice Initiative Committee with in-depth assessments of statewide lawyer scarcity. The Center’s Kansas policy paper, which advocates structural reform and long-term, sustainable funding, guided public defense stakeholder conversations in 2025. Finally, the Center provided testimony against SB 99, a bill that would have eliminated crucial public defender positions statewide. The bill died in committee.

Texas – Protecting Public Access to Initial Appearance Proceedings

In the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Deason Center helped secure a foundational right: public access to Texas’ magistration (initial appearance) proceedings, which often occur in local jails. After Caldwell County officials closed in-jail magistration hearings to the public and the press, plaintiffs sued to hold local leaders accountable. In November, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that bail hearings must be open to the public, emphasizing that magistration is a critical stage of the criminal process. As a result, jails across the state have been directed to ensure access to magistration proceedings. The Deason Center’s litigation team continues to work on settlement terms.

Arkansas – Defending the Right to Counsel at First Appearance

In Arkansas, the Deason Center’s Day One Campaign has pressed for counsel at first appearance and the resources necessary to ensure prompt representation. The team has provided strategy support to local litigators, published a policy paper, and testified before the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. This year, after a right-to-counsel victory in federal district court, the Deason Center coordinated a national amicus effort in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition to filing its own brief, the Center organized briefs from leading advocacy organizations such as NACDL, NAPD, and NLADA.

About the Deason Center

Founded in 2017, the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center at SMU Dedman School of Law champions public defense policy reforms across diverse political landscapes. As the country’s only academic research center focused on the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, the Deason Center is nationally recognized for its data-driven policy work and practical, principled reform strategies. Partnering with advocates, lawmakers, and local stakeholders, the Center drives evidence-based change that protects constitutional rights and reduces inequality. The Day One campaign epitomizes the Center’s action-oriented, stakeholder-supported, data-driven approach to indigent defense reform.