Appellate indigent defense leaders warn of 'constitutional crisis' without $25M boost for court‑appointed counsel

Summary

Judicial Council, appellate project directors and appellate judges told the Assembly subcommittee that the statewide panel of appellate counsel has shrunk dramatically while appeals have risen, producing lengthy delays for children, juveniles and criminal defendants and prompting a request for $25 million in additional funding.

Judicial and advocacy leaders told the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 6 that California’s court‑appointed appellate counsel system faces an urgent recruitment and retention crisis that is causing long delays in appellate cases, including dependency and juvenile matters.

Justice Stacy Bulwell Urie (title listed in panel materials), speaking for the Judicial Council, said appellate defense projects and their volunteer panel attorneys are “at a crossroads” and described a rapid decline in available counsel. “Ten years ago, there were almost 950 panel attorneys. Today only around 600 remain,” Justice Bulwell Urie said, adding that appellate courts process nearly 10,000 cases a year and projects are now seeing thousands of cases waiting for counsel.

Jennifer Peabody, acting executive director of the California Appellate Project in Los Angeles, said demand has risen and supply has fallen simultaneously. She told the…

Appellate indigent defense leaders warn of 'constitutional crisis' without $25M boost for court‑appointed counsel

Summary

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