Committee approves DCJS grants for assigned counsel and public defender; salary increases made contingent on state aid

Warren County supervisors voted to accept two grant awards from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services and to allocate the funds between the county Assigned Counsel Office and the Public Defender’s Office, funding discovery-reform technology, vouchers and temporary salary increases.

The committee approved the resolutions in a bundled motion after discussion. Supervisor Strainer moved to advance items 1–5 with Supervisor Gilligan seconding; the motion carried.

The grants total roughly $380,000, made up of two awards of $190,000 each, apportioned between the Public Defender’s Office and the Assigned Counsel Office by caseload. Assigned Counsel Administrator Brian said about $100,000 of the combined award will go to the assigned counsel office and the remainder to the Public Defender’s Office. “So of those two grants, they were each $190,000,” Brian said. He told the committee one grant must be used for discovery reform and the other may be used to supplement assigned counsel services.

Why it matters: county legal offices face increased workload from expanded electronic discovery and higher assigned-counsel voucher costs. The grants will fund technology to reduce staff time spent on discovery and reduce the county’s voucher payments, while also temporarily increasing public defender pay to improve retention.

Key details and how the money will be used

- Technology and subscriptions: The…