Mainstreaming social work intervention as an element of fair trial

This chapter presents the intervention model of the Fair Trial Program, an initiative to strengthen state-sponsored legal services for undertrial prisoners at both p re-trial and trial stages at Nagpur and Pune districts in India, through a team of social workers and lawyers, borrowing elements of holistic defense along with core principles of anti-oppressive social work to ensure that undertrials receive the best available defense and are not compelled to plead guilty. The model, which we call “client-centred legal aid,” is an attempt to institutionalize and integrate social work intervention within state-sponsored legal services by customizing interventions to respond to client needs and ensuring fair trial through access to quality legal services.