Justice Center's Locke Bowman Awarded 'First Defender Award'
First Defense Legal Aid (FDLA) honored Locke Bowman with the ‘First Defender Award’ at their annual event this May. Each year the award is given to someone who has helped to advance the cause of providing effective representation to indigent persons in the criminal justice system.
Past recipients include Randolph Stone, former Public Defender of Cook County, and Terence MacCarthy, executive director of the Federal Defender Program in the Northern District of Illinois.
FDLA thanked Bowman for his compassion, dedication and commitment to helping those who are often lacking a voice in the legal system.
FDLA protects civil rights by offering free 24-hour legal representation and advice to any individual taken into Chicago Police Department custody. The Program's services cover the initial and most critical stage of police detention: immediately after arrest until the time when a public defender has been assigned by the court system.
