"Indigent defendants" refers to individuals who are accused of a crime but cannot afford to hire their own legal representation because they lack sufficient income or resources. Full definition
At a City Council hearing on criminal discovery practices in February chaired by Queens councilman Rory Lancman, Sergio de la Pava, a supervising attorney for New York County Defender Services who has been representing indigent defendants in Manhattan for over 20 years, described a typical experience in the borough's courtrooms: After waiting six months or a year for trial, he said, «The DA comes in with a cart and drops about six inches of material on your desk. (themarshallproject.org)
Also, since there is a right to counsel for indigent defendants in criminal cases, when a lawyer withdraws (especially for non-payment) the court now has to determine whether or not the client is indigent (which non-payment would typically support an inference of) and if so, the court must appoint a new lawyer who would have to do lots of redundant work to get up to speed in a case. (law.stackexchange.com)
-- A citywide bail fund to provide bail for indigent defendants charged with low level misdemeanors whose bail is set at $ 2,000 or less, funded by an initial $ 1.4 million (silive.com)