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Davis County legal defenders warn of staffing crisis, seek pay restructure to retain experienced attorneys
Summary
Todd Edsinger told the Davis County Budget Committee that rising caseloads, greater case complexity and a widening pay gap with prosecutors threaten retention; he proposed restructuring pay to raise average defender compensation while keeping county per-capita spending below the state mean.
Todd Edsinger, speaking for the Davis County Legal Defenders, told the county budget panel that an influx of cases, more complex evidence and lower pay compared with prosecutors have put the defender office near a breaking point and require a pay-structure change to avert attorney losses.
Edsinger said the office’s workload has grown with county population and that the Indigent Defense Commission (IDC) data show steady increases in appointments since mid-2022. "We represent about 80% of the people charged in district court by the county attorney's office," he said, and noted that recent national guidance from the RAND Corporation recommends a workload cap of about 59 low‑level felonies or 50 low‑level misdemeanors for a full‑time defender. Davis County defenders, Edsinger said, exceed those measures on both simple and weighted-case metrics.
Why it matters: escalating case complexity—more video, body‑cam footage, social‑media discovery and DNA analysis—lengthens preparation and raises costs. Edsinger cited a Utah County murder…
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