TexasAppleseed.net

Project Background

After helping pass the Fair Defense Act in 2001, Texas Appleseed realized that barriers to justice for defendants with a mental illness or mental retardation needed to be addressed. Texas Appleseed began an education and outreach campaign aimed at lawyers, judges and consumers to make them aware of the laws and special issues affecting defendants with a mental disability.

As part of this effort, Texas Appleseed produced handbooks for attorneys representing clients with a mental illness or mental retardation, as well as handbooks for defendants and their family members available in English and Spanish.  Appleseed Centers in Georgia and Louisiana have replicated these handbooks in their states.  Texas Appleseed also has published a series of monographs for judges on issues relevant to cases involving defendants with mental disabilities.

Texas Appleseed has advocated for specialized systems of representation for defendants who have a mental illness or mental retardation, and helped create the first Mental Health Public Defender's Office in the country (located in Austin).  In 2003, Texas Appleseed received the Ring of Honor Award from the Mental Health Association of Texas for meeting the legal needs of defendants with mental illness or mental retardation.

 MEDIA COVERAGE 

Pro Bono Partners & Funders

Texas Appleseed is grateful to Houston Endowment and Hogg Foundation for Mental Health for generously funding the handbook project.  The Hogg Foundation also is providing major grant support to enable Texas Appleseed and its lead pro bono partner Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld LLP to investigate how the immigration court and detention system treats immigrants with mental illness.

Publications

Judicial Resources

A Judicial Resource: Protecting Constitutional Rights of Defendants with Mental Impairments

 

Judicial Options: Personal Bond Statutes and Defendants With Mental Illness or Mental Retardation

 

Judicial Options: When Clients Are Incompetent to Stand Trial

 

A Better Model: Ensuring Equal Justice for Persons With Mental Illness & Mental Retardation

 Handbooks

	Finding the Path to Equal Justice: A Handbook for Defendants with Mental Retardation and Their Families Texas Appleseed, 2005.
	Opening the Door: Justice for Defendants with Mental Retardation: A Handbook for Attorneys Practicing in Texas Texas Appleseed, 2005.
	Finding Help When You're in Trouble with the Law: A Handbook for Persons with Mental Illness and Their Families Texas Appleseed, 2005.
	Mental Illness, Your Client and The Criminal Law: A Handbook for Attorneys Who Represent Persons with Mental Illness Texas Appleseed, 2005.

El Camino Hacia La Igualdad en La Justicia: Manual para Los Acusados Con Retraso Mental Y Sus Familias Texas Appleseed, 2005.

Links

Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America

Mental Health Association in Texas