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Judicial Council urges more public defender funding to avoid costlier assigned counsel
Summary
The Judicial Council told the Senate Finance Committee that a higher public defender appropriation would keep caseloads within contractual limits and save the state money because assigned counsel is substantially more expensive per case than the public defender system.
Jay Buggy, executive director of the Judicial Council, told the Senate Finance Committee the state’s current public‑defender funding level is inadequate given rising caseloads and the end of temporary federal supports that previously bolstered indigent defense funding.
Buggy said the governor’s recommended budget mistakenly listed $27 million for the public defender when it intended $28.8 million; the House restored the missing funds. The Judicial Council recommended additional funding to reach $32.6 million per year in the next biennium; the council also discussed a higher figure ($37 million) it previously voted to recommend to reduce caseloads further.
Buggy told senators that in seven of ten public defender offices attorneys are already above contractual caseload limits. He said that when the public defender cannot accept cases the state must pay assigned counsel—private attorneys who take individual appointments—which is more costly. As an example, Buggy said it cost about $900,000 in 2024 to staff the public defender office that covers Littleton and surrounding courts; he estimated covering the same workload with assigned counsel would cost about "$3,000,000 or more than 3 times as much." He said the public defender had planned to hire 19 attorneys to lower caseloads but has begun rescinding offers because funding remains uncertain.
Why it matters: Indigent defense is constitutionally required; underfunding the public defender network shifts cases to assigned counsel and raises per‑case cost. The Judicial Council said higher base funding now would reduce assigned‑counsel spending over the biennium.
Committee context: Buggy said the council will continue to work with the Office of the Public Defender and the Finance Committee to refine exact staffing and salary proposals; he urged the committee to consider the council’s recommended funding increases to avoid layoffs and higher downstream costs.
