Lake Havasu City awards five-year public defender contract to Whitney & Whitney

Lake Havasu City Council on Tuesday approved a five-year professional services agreement with Whitney & Whitney PLLC to provide public defender services, voting 6-0.

The contract commits the city to $225,000 per year and sets an average rate of $346 per case, with the city projecting the firm will handle up to 650 cases annually and about 50 conflict cases to be assigned to other attorneys. The council’s motion to award the agreement was made by Vice Mayor David Lane and seconded by Council Member Jenny Coke; the vote was 6-0.

The issue drew extended discussion during the public hearing. City staff said the award followed a request-for-proposals process and review by a selection committee that included Ron Gillio (chief legal defender, Mohave County), Judge Clowley, court supervisor Jennifer Harold and city staff. City staff told the council two proposals were received and that the committee selected Whitney & Whitney based on the evaluation scores.

City Manager (Mr. Knudson) summarized the city’s caseload projection and conflict estimate, saying the city expects “to be about 650 to 700 cases per year, and about 50 of those cases will be, will be, conflicted out.”

Charles Yeager, who identified himself as the Lake Havasu City prosecutor but spoke as a private citizen, criticized the competitive environment and the cost, saying fewer firms bid this year and that taxpayers should be aware of the price. He told council members: “The public needs to look at this thing, how much money we're spending, and internally how we're treating our people compared to externally.” Yeager raised the 35-year-old Arizona Supreme Court decision commonly called Joe U. Smith as a factor affecting caseload guidance and argued for distributing work across more attorneys to allow participation by local solo practitioners.

Brian Whitney, owner and attorney at Whitney & Whitney, defended the contract and described the variation in workload among cases, noting that some matters can require many hours of work. He said of complex cases that “I probably invested 50 to 60 hours in” describing a recent DUI trial that required a full day in court and substantial preparation.

Whitney and Whitney will continue handling conflict cases through contracting with other local attorneys when needed, city staff said. City staff also noted the contract includes an early-termination provision.

The council approved the agreement after the public hearing. The formal motion to award the professional services agreement to Whitney & Whitney PLLC was made by Vice Mayor David Lane and seconded by Council Member Jenny Coke; the roll-call vote was Cal Sheehy — yes; David Lane — yes; Jenny Coke — yes; Gordon Groat — yes; Michelle Lynn — yes; Jim Dolan — yes.

The award replaces a prior short-term arrangement and locks in the annual cost and per-case rate for up to five years; the contract structure and the caseload cap were central points during public comment and council discussion.