Public defenders, prosecutors tell Senate Judiciary they need permanent positions and funding to address rising caseloads and backlog

The Defender General and officials from the Department of State's Attorneys told the Senate Judiciary committee during a hearing that they need conversion of limited‑service positions to permanent posts and additional staff to handle rising caseloads, digital evidence storage demands and local office rent increases.

The request matters because public defenders and prosecutors said increases in filings and specific case types are worsening an existing backlog that delays case resolution and strains offices across the state. Committee members were asked to restore vacancy savings, extend or convert limited‑service positions that already have funding in the baseline, and add targeted hires in field offices.

At the hearing the Defender General described how the public defense system is structured and flagged workload trends. “We represent over 85% of the people in criminal court,” the Defender General said, adding that criminal filings rose about 7% in fiscal year 2024 on top of earlier double‑digit increases. The Defender General also told the committee that probation‑violation filings have risen by about 60% and that termination of parental rights cases in juvenile court rose by about 40%.

The Defender General asked the committee to convert nine limited‑service positions that the administration previously funded into permanent positions, saying the money is…