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Court approves six-month contract to add Spanish-speaking indigent defense attorney
Summary
After losing a bilingual indigent defense attorney, the court approved a six-month contract to add a Spanish-speaking attorney for the remainder of 2026 to address high caseloads.
The court voted to approve a six-month contract to bring on a Spanish-speaking indigent defense attorney after a recent loss of a bilingual attorney left the public-defense workload stretched.
Judge Mathis (S12) told the court, "We lost one of our Spanish speaking attorneys," and said the workload had become too heavy for the prior contractor. Mathis explained the new contract would provide Spanish-language services for the remainder of 2026. The motion carried on voice vote.
Why it matters: Indigent defense capacity and language access affect defendants' rights and case processing; the additional contract is a short-term step to maintain services while the court considers longer-term staffing or contract solutions.
