State budget cuts weighing on scales of justice

From the Sarasota Herald-Tribune:

One of the few booming areas in these dismal economic times are courthouses, where an explosion of foreclosures are joining the sometimes mundane, sometimes volatile crush of divorces, contract disputes and criminal cases that are always increasing in Florida.

But despite the demand, budget cuts are forcing public defenders to drop cases, state attorneys to rely on more inexperienced lawyers and courts to eliminate hundreds of jobs.

State court officials earlier this year said they needed 61 new judges statewide to handle increased caseloads. Not only were those jobs not filled, circuit and appellate courts will lose 250 positions with more than 120 layoffs.

Despite Gov. Charlie Crist’s high profile push to join most of the country in automatically restoring civil rights to felons released from prison, the Florida Parole Commission’s budget was cut by 20 percent with a loss of 24 jobs. The commission had asked for 42 new hires to handle increased work.

Dozens of jobs in state attorney and public defender offices are being eliminated, falling most heavily on sections set aside for specific cases like sexual crimes and drug arrests.

Miami-Dade public defender Bennett Brummer said his office will decline most felony cases in order to make sure his office can adequately represent the others.

In Sarasota and Manatee counties, nearly two dozen staff positions at the State Attorney’s Office and Public Defender’s Office have been left vacant because of budget woes, bumping up caseloads for prosecutors and defense attorneys as they cover for their colleagues who retired or moved on to other positions.

Public Defender Elliott Metcalfe Jr. said his office could be forced to abandon the misdemeanor units, and reassign defense attorneys to felony cases, where the sanction of prison exceeds the punishment in misdemeanor cases.

…

Sen. Crist, no relation to the governor, said public defenders are angling for a lawsuit over inadequate legal representation that would force lawmakers to spend more for those offices.

“That’s what this is all about,” he said. “There is no need to shut down and deny access or service.”

But public defenders say that when rising caseloads are combined with smaller staffs, something has to give.

For example, the 20th Judicial Circuit, which covers Charlotte, Lee and Collier counties, has already lost one public defense attorney and will also see the loss of two investigators and support staff.

Last year, the circuit handled 49,214 cases. This year, caseloads are looking as though they will top 60,000, said Delroy Blake, financial manager for the office.

“Especially in these trying economic times, we have people being charged that would have no other option than to have a lawyer appointed by the public defender,” said Kathy Smith, public defender for the 20th Judicial Circuit.

“It’s a constitutional office and we will continue to provide services. Without it, it’s not the United States of America,” she said.

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