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Budget cuts put more pressure on public defenders
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By WENDY MITCHELL, Staff Writer
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In response to the General Assembly decision to cut $2.5 million in Department of Public Advocacy funding in the next fiscal year, the DPA issued a three-page announcement regarding the future of public defender availability in Kentucky.
Already seeing a steady increase in case loads since 2000, the possibility of cutting attorneys and/or staff members, and increasing case loads is not something the department is looking forward to implementing, and has an alternative plan.
"The cut in DPA’s fiscal year 2009 budget is considerable, and cannot be justified in view of the inadequacy of past DPA funding and current increases in prosecutorial, law enforcement and corrections budgets. The Public Advocate has informed the Commission of a proposed plan to cut services in a way that would make every effort to minimize the impact on the liberty interests of most DPA clients," said Robert C. Ewald, DPA Commission Chairman in the announcement.
The Northern Kentucky Office of Public Advocacy in Maysville, including Lewis, Fleming, Bracken, Mason, and Robertson counties, is under the direction of attorney Tom Griffiths.
Certain types of cases, including conflict cases (with multiple clients who require no conflict of interest in attorney affiliations), status offender cases, family court, probation revocation, parole proceedings and certain misdemeanor cases may feel the pinch of the decision, PDA officials wrote.
"Turning away cases is a serious step and, unfortunately, an extreme measure, but it is necessary if we are to properly perform our statutory fiduciary duty. Moreover, under the prevailing circumstances, it is ethically required by the Rules of Professional Conduct to take these steps to protect the interests of our needy clients, as well as the integrity of the justice system. The commonwealth has a constitutional mandate to fund indigent defense at an adequate level; it has failed to do so in the past, and it has failed to do so in this budget -- such failures can no longer be countenanced or tolerated," Ewald wrote.
Attrition may account for some cost reductions, with vacated openings left vacant, officials said, but it would not lessen the case load on the remaining attorneys.
According to the DPA Web site in the 2007 fiscal year, county by county, Griffiths' staff, totalling five attorneys, handled a caseload of Bracken, 302; Fleming, 429; Lewis , 451; Mason, 141; and Robertson, 97 cases. According to the statistical analysis, Griffith's office, averaged 376.8 clients for the year, including appeals.
The state average for Kentucky is 436.3 clients per attorney.
Statewide, Jefferson and Fayette Counties topped the 2007 charts with 539.5 cases per PDA attorney in Jefferson and 651.4 cases handled by each DPA attorney in Fayette.
According to Maysville PDA office personnel, Griffiths was busy in court in northern Kentucky Thursday, and had not replied to an interview request by press time.
For more area news, go to http://www.maysville-online.com.
Contact Wendy Mitchell at wendy.mitchell@lee.net or call 606-564-9091, ext. 276. |
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Reader Comments
Comments are limited to 200 words or less.
PD wrote on Apr 15, 2008 11:13 AM: " Wondering wrote on Apr 11, 2008 6:47 PM:
" If you can't do the time, don't do the crime. "
Your statement is trite and idiotic. It assumes that the people who will be affected by this are all guilty of a crime. The fact of the matter is that as a side effect of these budget cuts some innocent people will be convicted because they are recieving a less than adaquate defense in a system that is already weighted agianst them. "
Wondering wrote on Apr 11, 2008 6:47 PM: " If you can't do the time, don't do the crime. "
The Ville wrote on Apr 11, 2008 11:58 AM: " Should have allowed gambling so our budget would not have wound up like this. It is our own fault, or should I say our elected officials. "
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