WASHINGTON, DC, May 1, 2003 — The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) is pleased to announce that Stephen Richards, deputy defender of the Death Penalty Trial Assistance Division, of the Office of the Illinois State Appellate Defender, and Lois Wood, managing attorney, of the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation are this year's winners of the prestigious Kutak-Dodds Prizes. Jointly sponsored by NLADA and the Robert J. Kutak Foundation, each prize carries a cash award of $10,000. The winners will receive their awards during the NLADA Exemplar Awards Dinner at The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, on June 12.

The Kutak-Dodds Prizes, awarded annually, honor the accomplishments of civil legal aid attorneys, public defenders and public interest advocates who, through the practice of law, are contributing in a significant way to the enhancement of human dignity and quality of life of those persons unable to afford legal representation.

"It is my high privilege to recognize Stephen Richards and Lois Wood for their unwavering dedication to the pursuit of justice for low-income and disadvantaged persons – people with no place else to turn," said Clint Lyons, NLADA president and CEO. "Both Richards and Wood epitomize all that public defenders and legal aid attorneys can be, as evidenced by their respective achievements, varied leadership roles and outstanding legal work."

Stephen Richards has been on the frontlines of defending people accused of crimes who cannot afford to pay for an attorney. He is also a leader in the effort to improve representation for men and women facing the death penalty. Prior to holding his current position at the Death Penalty Trial Assistance Division, Richards worked as an assistant public defender in Cook County. For 11 years, he defended the rights of thousands of people accused of crimes who could not afford to pay an attorney, fighting for scientifically reliable DNA testing, racially representative juries and the right of a person in police custody to be informed when an attorney is present and seeking to assist him. In fact, Richards’ extraordinary advocacy was instrumental in the establishment of First Defense Legal Aid, a nonprofit organization that sends pro bono attorneys to the aid of indigent suspects in police custody.

Since 2000, when Illinois State Appellate Defender Ted Gottfried hired him as the first director of the newly created Death Penalty Trial Assistance Division, Richards has helped revolutionize capital defense in Illinois. The division, created in response to the state’s appalling pattern of sending innocent people to death row, is involved in nearly every capital case in the state. Under Richards’ leadership, the division has initiated the first statewide defense capital training program, educated local attorneys and judges on the need for a mitigation investigation conducted by a specialist in each capital case and pioneered other innovations in capital defense such as the use of focus groups, jury surveys and genograms. Despite initial opposition from many sides, the changes in capital practice in Illinois that Richards has brought about in a short period of time have been remarkable. Before the establishment of the Division, Illinois sentenced between 15 and 20 people to death yearly. In 2002, there were only five death sentences. Richards’ unsung, behind-the-scene efforts also deserve much credit for the historic grant of blanket clemency earlier this year by former Republican Governor George Ryan. Richards chaired the Ad Hoc Committee for Mass Clemency and personally argued two of the clemency petitions before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. Richards then led a team that represented the accused in the first Illinois capital trial held after clemency, winning a finding of ineligibility and saving the client’s life.

Lois Wood has devoted her entire 29-year career to providing meaningful opportunities and safe communities to the residents of East St. Louis, Illinois. As the managing attorney of Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, Wood has been a remarkable legal advocate to improve every aspect of her clients’ lives; from health care, to housing, to education, to consumer rights, her dedication is unmistakable. As part of a community-based coalition, she successfully battled to stop the closing of a much-needed local hospital serving the lowest-income residents of East St. Louis. She saved the homes of hundreds of African-American installment land contract homebuyers who were the victims of an interstate insurance scam. Through her own aggressive advocacy, and her technical assistance to private attorneys, she prevented the U.S. Farmers Home Administration from foreclosing on hundreds of family farms in Illinois. In a groundbreaking class action suit, she fought on behalf of public housing residents against fraud and incompetence in the operation of public housing in East St. Louis. The suit brought about a federal takeover of the local housing authority and more than $100 million to the community to rehabilitate and replace existing public housing units. This precedent-setting victory led the way for similar takeovers in other cities, including Chicago, Kansas City and Philadelphia.

Wood is currently litigating complex predatory lending cases, spending much of her time with clients while attending to her managerial duties in the office. In addition, she reaches beyond traditional models of legal services delivery by collaborating closely with many community organizations and social service providers on innovative projects. She also volunteers her time generously and serves on the committees and boards of numerous organizations.

For more information on the Kutak-Dodds Prizes, contact Mizue Suito, director of development, at (202) 452-0620 ext. 217 or via e-mail at m.suito@nlada.org.

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Established in 1989 and presented each year at the NLADA Exemplar Awards Dinner in Washington, DC, the Kutak-Dodds Prizes are jointly sponsored by NLADA and the Robert J. Kutak Foundation. The award is named for the late Robert J. Kutak, a member of the first Legal Services Corporation board and the late Kenneth R. Dodds, former partner in the Omaha office of Kutak Rock. Kutak dedicated his career to public service and legal education, and Dodds was well known for his life-long interest in providing legal services to the disadvantaged.

The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA), founded in 1911, is the oldest and largest national, nonprofit membership organization devoting all of its resources to advocating for equal access to justice for all Americans. NLADA champions effective legal assistance for people who cannot afford counsel, serves as a collective voice for both civil legal services and public defense services throughout the nation and provides a wide range of services and benefits to its individual and organizational members.