State’s public defenders must do more with less

They work 40 cases in a day, slog through a slew of consecutive 90-hour weeks and still face a never-ending list of new clients.

The lives of public defenders are not glamorous. Long known for being overworked and underfunded, public defenders are required by the U.S. Constitution to represent indigent defendants, but they consistently have more cases than other attorneys and less time to prepare. And in this recession, conditions have only worsened.

Maryland’s public defender’s office ran out of money last September, forcing it to stop paying private attorneys who take the 10,000 cases a year that present a conflict of interest for its lawyers. The office then lost 48 positions, including 23 attorneys, when the General Assembly passed a public defenders budget that was 2.1 percent leaner than last fiscal year’s. In addition, the Board of Public Works two weeks ago slashed $400,000 from the office’s budget, eliminating the capital defense division because the state has limited the death penalty.

“Doing more with less is pretty much the bottom line,” said Nancy Forster, the state’s public defender.

The office resumed paying private attorneys to handle conflict-of-interest cases, such as when co-defendants testify against each other, after nearly two months, when Gov. Martin O’Malley infused the office with $3.5 million. It’s taken many other steps to cut costs to avoid another catastrophe. Lawyers in the juvenile protection division travel to detention centers to meet with all clients represented by public defenders, not just their own, and when public defenders leave the job, either to pursue a more lucrative career as a private attorney, or for other reasons, the office rarely replaces them.

Most public defenders in Maryland have a caseload that exceeds the state guidelines. In rural district courts, for instance, guidelines show that public defenders should annually handle 630 cases; in the lower shore last year, they had nearly 1,100, according to state budget records.

“I’d like to say it doesn’t happen, but do we get caught short sometimes? Yeah,” said James Murray, district public defender for the Lower Eastern Shore. “And that’s why I say it’s crucial if you’re going to be a public defender to manage your time well.”

In Anne Arundel County, public defenders are in court four days a week. When they have trials, they typically arrive to work at 8 in the morning and don’t leave until 11 at night. When they have time, they confer with clients, negotiate with prosecutors, meet with defendants in the detention center, call police and visit crime scenes.

“There’s not enough time and there’s too many cases, but part of that is the challenge,” said Darren Douglas, a public defender and the county’s district court supervising attorney.

Public defenders said the sour economy has saddled them with heavier caseloads because fewer defendants can afford private representation. A public defender also recently left Anne Arundel to move out of state. She has not been replaced. The other attorneys in the office had to take on her 50 cases.

Last year, public defenders in several states sued, alleging they were overwhelmed and couldn’t take more cases. Maryland, however, has a statewide system that allows public defenders to shift between counties and spread the work.

But the situation may get worse. Forster expects the state to make further budget cuts.
So why, with all the hassle and low pay – salaries start at about $53,000 – do public defenders do what they do? Many are driven by a deep respect and passion for the judicial system, said Michael Morrissette, the state’s deputy public defender.

“Public defenders are idealists,” he said. “That means they believe in the ideals of the Constitution of the United States. Public defenders are blessed to be able to stand up in a courtroom and say, ‘You can’t do that because that’s against the Constitution of the United States.’ Not many lawyers do that.”

Mike Silvestri is a freelance writer based in the Baltimore area and a student at the University of Baltimore School of Law.