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Washoe County public defenders outline caseload trends, warn of position losses when grant funding ends
Summary
Public Defender and Alternate Public Defender offices told commissioners caseloads have fallen but trial preparation time and complex cases have increased; five staff positions funded by ARPA are scheduled to end and offices asked county to consider permanent funding.
The Washoe County Public Defender and the Alternate Public Defender updated commissioners on March 11 about caseload trends, specialty-court work and staffing pressures as federal and ARPA funding for several positions winds down.
"Funding indigent defense is a cost of the prosecution function," said Evelyn Grosnick, director of the public defender’s office, opening the presentation. Grosnick provided a legal and operational overview that included national standards requiring effective counsel and a summary of Washoe County’s conflict and tertiary-counsel process.
Why it matters: Both offices said total assigned cases have fallen about 1,000 year-over-year, but the share of cases going to jury trial and the time required to prepare trials have increased. "When you set a case for trial, you then also start thinking about... subpoenas, investigations, pretrial motions," the public defender staff said, explaining why workload can remain high even when case counts drop.
Staffing risks: The public defender's office said five positions (three attorneys, one investigator and one legal assistant) are currently funded by ARPA or other temporary grants and are scheduled to end in the coming fiscal year. "We are on track to lose 5 positions that are currently funded with federal grants from ARPA," Grosnick said. Commissioners and staff discussed the possibility of finding permanent funding to avoid losing institutional capacity and of using a pending workload study to guide decisions.
Complex litigation and specialty courts: Kate Hickman of the Alternate Public Defender’s Office said that office handles a disproportionate share of complex felonies and conflicts; at the time of the presentation the APD had about 20 active homicide cases, one of which could be a death-penalty case. Both offices highlighted their role in specialty courts — mental-health court, drug court, reentry court and others — and argued specialty programs reduce recidivism and long-term public costs.
Operational improvements: The offices described recent efficiency gains, including new digital tools for reviewing body-camera footage, emergency phones at the jail to facilitate attorney-client communications, and partnerships with the sheriff’s office. Both offices said holistic defense — integrating legal, social and treatment referrals — remains a priority and that social-work interns and family-court investigative staff play a key role.
Next steps: Commissioners asked for budget impact information and signaled interest in protecting positions that are central to felony work. Manager Brown said a workload study funded by outside grants is underway; commissioners indicated any decisions about absorbing grant-funded positions into the county budget would be taken during the normal budget process.
Ending: The two offices emphasized they would return with more detailed budget and workload analysis as the county’s budget process moves forward.
