Mohave County indigent defense offices ask board for new attorneys, investigators and pay boosts

The Mohave County Board of Supervisors on April 21 heard a joint presentation from the county's Indigent Defense Services (IDS), Public Defender's Office, Legal Defender's Office and the Legal Advocate's Office outlining staffing shortages, caseload pressures and a multi-million-dollar set of budget requests to restore capacity.

Why it matters: The county is legally required to provide counsel for accused adults and juveniles. Presenters said current staffing leaves offices handling substantially more cases than professional guidelines recommend, and that new juvenile rules and Title 36 involuntary-treatment obligations are increasing investigator and travel needs.

Blake Schroeder, IDS director, said IDS assigns cases to the public defender, legal defender, legal advocate or to contract attorneys when internal offices cannot accept a case. John Gillenwater, public defender, cited caseload guidelines and said the county's public defender office has fallen from 20 attorneys in 2010 to 12 today and "these guideline numbers . . . suggest no more than 150 felonies and 400 misdemeanors per attorney." Gillenwater told the board his office's staffing request totals six new attorneys, one investigator and three support staff at an estimated cost of $1.2 million.

Ron Gillio, the county legal defender, described logistical strains from covering many courts across Mohave County and said the office is "reactionary" to arrests, filings and trial decisions outside its control. Gillio said vacancies are being used for summer interns to recruit future hires but that travel and multi-court coverage remain a constant operational challenge.

Bobby Shin, legal advocate for juvenile cases, detailed juvenile-practice demands and a backlog of in-person contact work created by Administrative Office of the Courts rules that require attorneys or trained investigators to meet minors in their place of residence before substantive dependency hearings. Shin said his office had just under 400 open, active cases on April 1 and roughly 525 clients and recommended converting an open office manager post into an investigator plus adding two investigators, one paralegal and another office specialist to meet the new mandate.

IDS said two programmatic, recurring needs are (1) restoring a caseload FTE eliminated in FY2014 at a cost of about $68,000 a year, and (2) increasing contract-attorney flat rates to be competitive. Schroeder said Mohave County's flat rate for some assignments (about $800) is well below the statewide average and proposed raising felony flat rates to $1,000 and misdemeanor flat rates to $500; estimated annual cost for rate increases was roughly $100,000 based on current assignments.

Board response and budget context: Supervisors pressed on total cost and on funding sources. Supervisor Don Martin said "roughly about $3,000,000" was the aggregate figure he computed from multiple requests and cautioned that other departments are also seeking substantial sums in the tentative FY2026 budget. County staff and presenters said the requests will need further review during budget hearings; no appropriation or formal budget action occurred during the meeting.

Legal and operational notes: Presenters referenced the Sixth Amendment right to counsel and the Arizona Supreme Court's earlier Joe U. Smith ruling that established statewide caseload guidance and led to creating staffed indigent-defense offices. Schroeder said IDS has managed increased assignment volume (about 60% growth for contract assignments since 2014) while losing casework staff.

The board did not take a funding vote on April 21; presenters were directed to provide follow-up budget detail. The offices said they would return with cost breakdowns and justification during the county's budget process.