Although the right to assistance of counsel is clearly stated in the sixth amendment, this right has not been enjoyed by many citizens, particularly the poor. In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has offered interpretations of the right to counsel and due process concepts which attempt to apply these principles to all Americans. Decisions addressing these issues include Powell v. Alabama, Betts v. Brady, and Gideon v. Wainwright. Nevertheless, the process of establishing indigency remains difficult. The number of States which have implemented public defender systems has increased dramatically within the past 20 years. For those States which do not have statewide defender systems, county defender systems or assigned counsel systems predominate. A review of the literature reveals that the type of indigent defense system implemented in a State does not necessarily dictate either cost effectiveness or success of the system. Four sections of the 'Code of Iowa: 1979' are pertinent to assessment of indigent defense systems for the State. The code states that indigents are entitled to counsel, that court-appointed counsel are entitled to reasonable compensation for their services, that indigents must file financial statements, and that one or more counties that are contiguous and within the same judicial district may establish a public defender office. Based upon assessment of costs and caseloads for all Iowa counties, it is concluded that public defender offices operating in conjunction with a court-appointed counsel system provide high quality defense and can be cost effective. Recommendations for improvement of the Iowa system include collection of necessary information for evaluation purposes, development of a definition of indigency, establishment of court-appointed counsel fees, and coordination of existing court-appointed counsel systems. Tables, a list of evaluations and needs assessments conducted in Iowa (1970-80), a sample data collection form for case information, and 23 references are supplied.