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Appellate public defender requests deputy attorney to reduce costly contract overflow
Summary
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee heard the State Appellate Public Defender request funding for a deputy attorney to handle non-capital appeals, citing rising caseloads and higher costs from contracting overflow cases.
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Thursday heard a request from the Office of the State Appellate Public Defender for funding to add a deputy state appellate public defender to handle non-capital felony, misdemeanor and juvenile district and post-conviction appeals.
The request is part of the office's fiscal year 2026 enhancement package and is presented as a cost-saving move: the office estimated continued contracting for overflow cases would cost roughly $254,000 per year, while hiring an in‑house attorney at about $140,000 salary would reduce that expense.
Christopher Lahoset, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, opened the presentation and outlined the office's structure and recent…
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