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County council approves $150,000 for outside public-defender bills amid staffing shortfall
Summary
The county approved a $150,000 appropriation to help pay outside counsel bills for the public defender office after officials described a multi-year shortfall in locally available attorneys and increased caseloads; the council asked for follow-up data and a work plan.
The county council on Tuesday approved a $150,000 appropriation to help the public defender’s office pay outside counsel bills while the office works through a backlog of felony cases.
Steve, public defender director, told the council the office has farmed out large numbers of cases since early 2023 and is still receiving daily bills from outside attorneys. "I think the current ones that we have that Crystal has on her desk are somewhere in 180 some odd thousand dollars," Steve said.
The request covered fees for attorneys the office has hired on an hourly basis because in several stretches the public defender office lacked enough local lawyers to cover new appointments. Steve said the hourly rate for outside counsel was set by the Public Defender Commission and that the office pays $125 per hour to contract…
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