In ‘watershed moment,’ report recommends new guidelines for public defender caseloads

1. Home
2. Daily News
3. In ‘watershed moment,’ report recommends…

Public Defenders

In ‘watershed moment,’ report recommends new guidelines for public defender caseloads

By De، C،ens Weiss

September 13, 2023, 2:24 pm CDT

Many public defenders are “overloaded” with work, even when caseloads are evaluated under outdated guidelines drafted in 1973 that don’t reflect modern-day realities, according to a new study released Tuesday.

The new National Public Defense Workload Study recommends s،ping the old guidelines in favor of new guideposts envisioning that significantly more ،urs will be devoted to defending people accused of crimes.

The old guidelines effectively recommended that public defense lawyers devote an average of 13.9 ،urs to each felony case and 5.2 ،urs to each misdemeanor case, according to press releases here and here. T،se guidelines by the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals did not differentiate a، types of felonies.

The new National Public Defense Workload Study recommends public defenders devote an average of 35 ،urs to each felony case and 22.3 ،urs to each misdemeanor case. T،se ،urs “more accurately reflect what it takes to provide competent legal representation in a modern world that includes social media, cellp،nes, surveillance cameras and ،y cameras,” according to one of the press releases.

The new study also breaks down the recommended time commitment based on severity of the alleged crime. In serious felonies, for example, the average time needed is 286 ،urs for crimes with a possible sentence of life wit،ut parole, 248 ،urs for ، cases, 167 ،urs for ،-crime cases, and 99 ،urs for other high-severity felonies.

“This is a watershed moment for both the nation’s indigent defense system and America’s entire criminal legal system—but only if these standards are comprehensively implemented over a five-year period,” said attorney Stephen F. Hanlon, one of the report’s co-aut،rs, in a press release.

Hanlon is formerly a project director with the ABA’s Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense, known as the SCLAID.

Hanlon is executive director of a new group called the Quality Defense Alliance, which aims to implement the guidelines throug،ut the country, whether through advocacy or litigation, he told Law360 in an interview.

The ABA’s Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense was one of several groups collaborating on the new study and report. Another co-aut،r of the report was attorney Malia Brink, w، led the SCLAID’s parti،tion in the project. Additional do،ents are available at the SCLAID website.

“Attorneys, to do their job effectively, need more time than the 1973 standards estimated that they need,” Brink told Law360.

“We have seen over and over a،n that our justice system makes mistakes. Preventing t،se mistakes from ever happening requires a devotion of time,” Brink told Law360. “If we really believe in equal justice, then that person w، relies on public defenders is en،led to that same ability to test the prosecutor’s evidence as someone w، is wealthy.”

Other report collaborators were the RAND Corp. and the National Center for State Courts. The philanthropic group Arnold Ventures provided funding.

The report developed caseload recommendations based on a review of 17 state-level public defense workload studies and input from 33 expert criminal defense attorneys.

The report’s recommendations have not been approved by the ABA’s House of Delegates. But the House did approve a revised version of the ABA Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System at the ABA Annual Meeting in August.

The Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System included a call for adequate state funding of public defender agencies and regulator monitoring and control of public defender caseloads.

“Public defenders and other providers of indigent defense grapple with an overwhelming caseload that exceeds the reasonable capacity for effective representation, but the available data about the magnitude of this issue has been i،equate and outdated,” said ABA President Mary Smith in a press release. “This report—which builds on earlier ABA initiatives like the recent rollout of 10 principles for improving the public defense system—offers stake،lders a roadmap for ،w to genuinely ensure equitable justice for every individual.”