What We Cover

We do an individualized assessment, and can fund the following depending on the facts of your case:

Bail or bond

• • • Bail or bond is what someone has to pay to get out of jail while awaiting trial. We believe that no one should be incarcerated or have to pay for their freedom.
    • Pretrial release can have a tremendous impact on people’s lives and later case proceedings, according to a report by the California Policy Lab. People who are incarcerated before trial are coerced into pleading guilty at higher rates, are more likely to be convicted, and face longer sentences than similarly-situated people who are released.

Attorney fees

• • • Attorney fees are what a lawyer is paid to represent someone. Some attorneys charge for their services, others provide their services pro bono, or are assigned by the court and do not charge clients who cannot afford legal fees.
    • As former public defenders with experience in criminal, family, immigration and parole court, we know that public defenders are some of the best advocates for our clients, and are proud to partner with them as abortion lawyers.
    • We also want everyone to work with an attorney that feels right for them and their case, and choose to pay attorneys fees for private attorneys in certain instances.

Experts

• • • Experts are often called in cases where there is a medical or scientific question before the court.
    • In most cases related to abortion and pregnancy outcomes, experts are needed to fully argue the case and ensure the correct science is heard by the judge. We are connected to nationally regarded experts in this field, and can help you connect and pay for them should your case need it.

Mitigation

• • • Mitigation is telling the court your personal story—where you come from and things that have happened in your life —as a part of your defense.
    • Mitigation evidence can help the judge understand your life circumstances, and can involve hiring investigators or psychologists to show a fuller picture to the judge.

Social Workers and counselors

• • • Social workers in a defense case help connect you to services and advocate for you when working with state agencies.
    • We know that fighting cases is traumatizing and doesn’t only happen in court. We can help you find and pay for a social worker to be your out-of-court advocate.

Alternatives to incarceration and conditions of release

• • • Instead of setting money bail, sometimes a court will release you with other requirements, such as ankle monitoring or a requirement to participate in drug programing.
    • The court calls these “alternatives,” but these requirements can be out of reach for people because of their cost or other life situations. That’s why we work with people to ensure that they can meet court requirements and stay out during the duration of their case. We also work with people on court-required programming in family court cases.

Interpreters

• • • Not all court or attorneys offices are language accessible, even when they claim to be.
    • Everyone should be able to understand what happens in court and communicate with their attorney in the language they best understand. We can find and pay an interpreter so you can participate in your own defense.

Commissary and communication costs

• • • It costs money to make phone calls and have basic life necessities like hygiene products or writing supplies during incarceration.
    • We know your needs continue to exist when you’re incarcerated and we can help make sure your needs are met inside.

Travel

• • • Getting to and from court dates and other important appointments on time is a necessary part of fighting a case.
    • No one’s legal outcome should rely on whether they can afford to get to court, so we can fund transportation expenses.

→ Find out who can get funding

→ Apply for funding

→ Volunteer with Repro Legal Defense Fund and If/When/How