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Around the country, budget cuts are bringing some federal public defenders to the breaking point. "We can't not pay the rent, and ... everything else is personnel. We can't send a computer to court," says Washington, D.C., public defender A.J. Kramer.

Steven Nolder joined the federal public defender's office when it opened in Columbus, Ohio, nearly 18 years ago. Nolder handled his share of noteworthy cases, including the first federal death penalty trial in the district and the indictment of a former NFL quarterback embroiled in a ticket fraud scheme.

Airs Friday, April 5, 2013 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV

Airs Friday, March 29, 2013 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV

Next week marks the anniversary of a landmark Supreme Court decision that says defendants facing substantial jail time deserve legal representation in state courts, even if they can't afford it. Now, many lawyers say the system for providing defense attorneys for the poor is in crisis.

Next week marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in which the justices unanimously ruled that defendants facing substantial jail time deserved legal representation in state courts, even if they couldn't afford to pay for it.

Airs Monday, March 4, 2013 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV

Airs Thursdays, July 3 - August 7, 2014 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court's landmark decision requiring the states to provide lawyers for poor people accused of committing crimes. Clarence Gideon, the defendant in that case, wrote his own petition to the high court in longhand, and Tuesday, the Supreme Court is hearing the case of another defendant who, in the longest of long shots, filed a handwritten petition from prison asking the justices for their help.

Top aide Denis McDonough is moving into the chief of staff's office. Justice Department official Lisa Monaco is taking on the counterterrorism post.