On Thursday, Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland will announce that Rachel Rossi will lead the newly reconstituted Office for Access to Justice, an Obama administration-era program to ensure poor defendants get legal representation in civil and criminal cases (article available here).
Rossi, who served as a state and federal public defender in Los Angeles County from 2011 to 2017, will be the first former public defender to hold the role, and one of few in recent history to ascend to such a prominent role in the agency. She currently serves as a deputy associate attorney general, where she leads U.S. Justice Department efforts related to criminal justice reform, law enforcement community engagement, access to justice and combatting hate crimes and bias.
In the past, the office has worked on bail reform and pushed state and local governments to lower legal fees in child custody and other civil cases, which can lead to incarceration and job loss when court-ordered payments go into arrears. The office has also worked to increase funding for public defenders, including providing representation to children brought to the country illegally.
The Office of Access to Justice was created under President Obama in 2010, but was all but shuttered during the Trump administration, which cut off funding and eliminated staff.