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Public defender warns expert-witness fund is exhausted, asks for modest position to ease court coverage
Summary
Public Defender Liz Pollock said the office has exhausted ARPA funds for experts and currently has no internal expert fund; she requested one entry-level attorney dedicated to arraignments and detention hearings and said she applied for a $100,000 grant that could obviate the need for immediate county funding.
Public Defender Liz Pollock told the county board that her office, although fully staffed (25 of 25 positions), lacks resources for expert witnesses and has exhausted previously available ARPA funds. "We have had over the last 3 years through ARPA funding, a total of $85,000 in different increments that we've used to spend on experts. We are out," Pollock said.
She said expert witness costs are recurring and sometimes necessary for mitigating factors or technical challenges in criminal cases (psychological evaluations, forensic analysis, cell-phone extractions). Pollock reported three unpaid expert bills and said she planned to submit budget amendments if a pending grant application (ISEEJA, $100,000) is not awarded.
Pollock also requested one entry-level attorney position focused on arraignment court, detention hearings and conflict coverage to reduce daily scheduling strain; she said the position would not carry a full caseload but would provide critical coverage. She noted that several other defense functions continue to be supported by grants (two social workers, drug court attorney) and that training and research subscriptions have been grant-funded.
Board members asked for cost details and the public defender said she will seek grants and provide follow-up documentation; no formal county action was taken during the meeting.
