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Office of Public Defense outlines caseload reductions, rural recruitment and hub model
Summary
Director Larry Jefferson described recent caseload-reduction funding, a rural law-student internship program with early placements, $11 million allocated to counties and designs for paralegal/investigator hubs to expand representation and accountability statewide.
Larry Jefferson, director of the Office of Public Defense, summarized recent investments and operational models to address a statewide public defense shortage.
Jefferson described decision-package successes that support caseload reductions and pilot programs that divert cases before formal courtroom filings. He highlighted a rural law-student internship program: 12 first-year participants in the inaugural year with eight already employed in rural communities.
On funding, Jefferson said, "We got $11,000,000 that are going out to counties. We got another 1.6 that are going out to cities," describing how those funds have been used for representation and to pilot social-work supports for substance-abuse cases. He proposed building a hub model that supplies paralegals, investigators and onboarding support to make public defense delivery more consistent across jurisdictions.
Jefferson also stressed accountability: new investments should include supervision and standards so funds improve service quality rather than simply expanding capacity with uneven oversight.
