Public defenders’ offices in at least seven states are refusing to take on new cases or have sued to limit them, citing overwhelming workloads that they say undermine the constitutional right to counsel for the poor.
Public defenders are notoriously overworked, and their turnover is high and their pay low. But now, in the most open revolt by public defenders in memory, the government appointed lawyers say budget cuts and rising caseloads have pushed them to the breaking point.
In September, a Florida judge ruled that the public defenders’ office in Miami-Dade County could refuse to represent many of those arrested on lesser felony charges so its lawyers could provide a better defense for other clients. Over the last three years, the average number of felony cases handled by each lawyer in a year has climbed to close to 500, from 367, officials said, and caseloads for lawyers assigned to misdemeanor cases has risen to 2,225, from 1,380.
“Right now a lot of public defenders are starting to stand up and say, ”˜No more. We can’t ethically handle this many cases,’ ” said David Carroll, director of research for the National Legal Aid and Defender Association.
The answer to this crisis is so blindingly obvious that I marvel that our newly elected President hasn’t made it part of his transition plan. We simply draft all attorneys into a National Legal Services Corps, pay them the same salary as a PFC in the Army (look it up for a laugh followed by a tear) and assign them to cases in random fashion. It might even help alleviate the litigation crisis!