Maryland Public Defender Natasha Dartigue

According to the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative, Black Marylanders make up about 30% of the state’s overall population, yet 71% of people incarcerated in correctional facilities are Black.

The National Public Defender Workload Study was released on Sept. 12 and is a collaboration between the RAND Corp., National Center for State Courts, American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense and Law Office of Stephen Hanlon in St. Louis.

The Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative (MEJC) will bring experts from the criminal justice system, academia, government and the community together to identify the underlying causes of mass incarceration.