Public defenders facing budget cuts

From wymtnews.com (KY):

Local attorneys say state budget cuts could jeopardize their ability to continue defending people in court.

Brian Hamilton says his life had spun out of control thanks to an addiction to drugs. “I was arrested, drug court came along and gave me the opportunity to change my life,” Hamilton said.

Drug offenders can move from the courtroom back into a productive life thanks to drug court but public defenders say state budget cuts could threaten it.

Brian Hamilton is now a supervisor at a Barbourville business. Many drug court graduates get help finding a job through a social worker program that one local attorney says could be on the chopping block.

“We’re facing some pretty serious cuts,” said Roger Gibbs with the Department of Public Advocacy. State public advocacy officials say if the proposed state budget goes through, thirty attorneys could lose their jobs. They say that would cause a major backlog in court.”

So we would have case loads in excess of national standards and bordering on unethical,” Gibbs said. And that, he says, could have a major effect on defendants. “If we have fewer lawyers, that means fewer jail visits, fewer opportunities to interact with out clients. It means less time to work on some real solutions,” Gibbs said.

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