Public defender says training, technology and salary restructuring aim to meet caseload standards as hires continue
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Summary
Chief assistant public defender Matthew Alpern presented the office’s 2026 budget, citing statewide grant funding, a planned attorney salary restructuring to aid recruitment and investments in training and discovery technology as the office works toward caseload standards.
Matthew Alpern, chief assistant public defender, presented the Albany County Public Defender Office’s proposed 2026 budget and told the Legislature the office is relying on state grant funding and internal changes to address recruitment, training and increasing caseload pressures.
Alpern said a substantial portion of the office’s funding comes from the New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services (ILS) statewide expansion grant and supplemental funding from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). He said the office is in the second year of a statewide expansion grant that runs April 2024 through March 31, 2027, and that DCJS funding supports discovery reform work.
To address recruitment and retention, the budget includes a proposed restructuring of attorney pay scales. Alpern and other office leaders emphasized an expanded training program for new lawyers — an in‑house eight‑ to nine‑week orientation plus state and national training partnerships such as Gideon’s Promise — as a core strategy to improve representation quality.
Alpern said the office is reviewing technology investments. The office implemented Axon Justice last year to store and review discovery more efficiently and is assessing whether to adopt a more capable case management system that better integrates mitigation and case handling functions.
Caseload figures presented by the office show a substantial volume of work: the office projected opening about 10,000 cases this year and reported scales by case type (projected 2025 figures cited in committee discussion included roughly 590 violent felonies, about 1,800 other felonies, nearly 5,000 violations, more than 300 parole violations, around 240 post‑disposition matters and over 2,200 family court cases). Alpern said appellate work is a smaller but time‑intensive category.
Committee members questioned variances in enhanced pay and fees‑for‑service lines. Alpern said a large portion of the 2025 enhanced pay line covered stipends for the Counsel at First Arraignment (CAFA) program, which provides attorneys on rotation for off‑hour arraignments; CAFA stipends are funded by an ILS grant and increased in 2025. He said these stipend payments are grant‑funded and would be vulnerable if the grant ended.
Alpern and other office leaders noted continuing vacancies — the office said it had about 12 vacancies at one point and expected to fill several incoming positions — and described the strain that voluminous discovery, including body‑worn camera footage, places on attorneys’ time. They said recruitment efforts have included multi‑year attorney class hires to build capacity.
No formal votes were taken during the presentation. The office asked the Legislature to continue supporting training, technology and salary adjustments intended to bring caseloads closer to the standards set by ILS.