The society does not handle all cases for indigent defendants, however.

The battle over indigent defendants is proceeding on several levels.

The new law says the state must give each indigent defendant two trial lawyers.

The Government is required to provide lawyers to indigent criminal defendants.

Last year, court-appointed lawyers worked with about half of the 72,804 Federal indigent defendants.

The concept was to give some indigent defendants the kind of legal help that the more affluent can buy.

Most of the attorneys were appointed to represent the indigent defendants only two weeks ago.

Trial judges then would be able to pick one of those lawyers to represent an indigent defendant.

The law does not apply to indigent defendants, whose court costs and lawyer are provided by the state.

The county public defender acts as defense counsel for indigent defendants.