Public defense faces heavy load

From the Hi-Desert Star (CA):

The annual report of the San Bernardino County Grand Jury examines the county’s public defenders office and finds it understaffed, an assessment the Joshua Tree public defenders’ supervisor called “100 percent correct.”

The grand jury recommends hiring new attorneys and investigators for the public defenders office, which provides legal defense when a person accused of a crime cannot afford his own lawyer.

The county, the report notes, has 116 deputy public defender positions, all filled. Public defenders participate in 78 percent of the cases prosecuted by the district attorney’s office, but with 51 percent of the trial lawyer staffing, the grand jury reported.

In 2007, the report states, the average deputy public defender in San Bernardino County handled 562 cases while the average deputy district attorney handled 352.

“San Bernardino County deputy public defenders’ average caseload also was much higher than neighboring counties,” the report states.

“The Department of Justice National Advisory Commission recommends a caseload of no more than 150 assigned felonies per attorney per year, or no more than 400 assigned misdemeanors per attorney per year or no more than 200 assigned juvenile cases per attorney per year,” the jury noted.

One reason for the shortage, the report speculates, may be a lack of lawyers and law schools in the county.

“San Bernardino County has 5.5 percent of California’s population and only 1.3 percent of the State Bar membership and has no law schools. Attorneys are often recruited from outside the county.

“Counties in Arizona with similar problems recruiting and retaining highly qualified personnel have documented the advantages of initiating a loan repayment program,” the jury pointed out.

Finding that the average law student graduates with $83,000 in student loans, the grand jury advised, “A loan repayment program would put monies aside to help the county recruit and retain qualified attorneys, saving time and money by reducing the need for more frequent hiring and providing a significant amount of new-hire training.”

The cost of the program would be about $5,250 a year for every qualifying attorney, according to the grand jury.

The report also finds the public defenders office lacking in investigators, stating, “The public defender’s office also operates with a lower percentage of investigators than the district attorney’s office.”

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