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Utah County public defenders: caseload spike equals 43,000 hours of work; office asks for phased hires and funding
Summary
Utah County Public Defender leaders told commissioners Nov. 8 that third-quarter appointments generated nearly 43,000 hours of work under new workload standards, a level that would require roughly 86 attorneys while the office has 28. The office asked the commission for a tiered hiring plan and targeted 2024 funding to cover program expenses and experts.
Benjamin Young, financial manager for the Utah County Public Defender Association, and Josh Esplin, the office—s chief counsel, told the Utah County Commission on Nov. 8 that rising caseloads and increased use of experts have driven program costs higher and strained attorney capacity.
"The total number of hours that this particular amount of cases ... in the third quarter, would require under the study, nearly 43,000 hours of work," Esplin said. He said extrapolating the workload in the study would require "close to 86 attorneys" while the…
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