The UC Berkeley Criminal Law & Justice Center, in partnership with allied law firms and advocacy organizations, is working to protect the right to counsel in California’s 58 counties. Through research, education, and litigation, the Center works to ensure all Californians receive zealous defense when charged with a crime, regardless of where they are charged or what they can afford. As part of these efforts, CLJC co-authored a report, published in early 2025, calling for the elimination of “flat-fee indigent defense contracts”, whereby counties pay private lawyers and firms a set amount of money to represent a limitless number of clients. Additionally, the Center is engaged in a first-of-its-kind research project utilizing large-scale criminal justice datasets to assess the relative quality of indigent defense in counties across California. The project takes aim at the problem of “justice by geography”, a phenomenon wherein defendants can expect far more capable defense if they are charged in certain California counties as compared to others.