State public defender system may get more funding

With the Missouri public defenders suffering from overwork and low pay, the president of the Missouri Bar said Tuesday that it changes in the system could be seen as early as next fiscal year.

In October 2005, an outside research and consulting firm determined that the Missouri State Public Defender System was on the "verge of collapse." In the last five years, the statewide caseload has increased by 12,000 to 88,000, with each of the 360 public defenders handling an average of 298 cases a year.

During the same period, the system has not seen any additional funding and the cumulative turnover rate was 100 percent.

"No system can survive with that kind of attrition rate," said Doug Copeland, president of the Missouri Bar.

For fiscal year 2007, the Public Defender's Office was hoping the state budget would pass with an additional $1.95 million for the office. Of the money, $950,000 would be part of an across-the-board 4 percent pay increase. Another $1 million was added by the governor after he heard about the problem facing the office, Copeland said during a lunch held between members of the local media, public defenders office and the Bar.

If the funds go through and the $1 million was also applied to raises, Copeland said, the additional money could help retain young lawyers, many of whom leave in under two years.

"We need to stop the hemorrhaging in the system. We need to hang onto those people," he said.

After funding, Copeland said, the next task is to reduce public defenders' caseload, either by changing the types of cases they handle or hiring more people.

Though public defenders have to represent any indigent who faces jail time, judges do not normally hand out jail sentences for some crimes. Traffic offenses, for example, constitute about 6,000 cases across the state but rarely incur jail time.

Last summer, the Missouri Bar sent out a request for local private lawyers to volunteer their time for some of those cases. About 300 throughout responded, taking on one to three cases, Copeland said.

Some of the private lawyers have stayed on, taking more cases as they come up on a volunteer basis.

The current system was established in 1989 to replace a contract-based system the state had with private lawyers.

Cathy Kelly, director of training and communications for the state's Public Defender Office, said contracting out again would not be viable because one private lawyer would cost about $120,000.

"For that we could hire three new public defenders," she said.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127