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Public defender urges county to add attorneys, mitigation staff as new law raises workload
Summary
The DeKalb public defender described heavy caseloads and a roughly 40% turnover rate over two years, asked for four attorneys plus investigators and client advocates to comply with House Bill 582, and said grant-funded client advocates' funding expires in May.
The DeKalb County Public Defender told the Finance, Audit and Budget Committee that court workloads, digital discovery demands and a new state law are stretching the office and risking ineffective representation unless the county funds additional staff.
Public Defender Delan said state-court attorneys in her office have caseloads exceeding 500 and felony attorneys have between 100 and 300 cases. She described recent turnover — three resignations in a week and an estimated 40% turnover rate in the last two…
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