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Public Defender Relief Bill Awaits Senate Approval
May 7, 2007
Springfield Business Journal
The Missouri Senate on April 19 gave final approval to a bill designed to provide relief for the state’s strained public defender system.
Last year, the public defender system in Missouri served more than 86,000 people who could not afford their own attorneys, according to a news release from the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Jack Goodman, R-Mount Vernon.
Including carry-over from previous years, public defenders had annual caseloads of approximately 380. The American Bar Association, however, recommends that no lawyer should take on more than 225 cases a year, and the bill works to address the caseload discrepancy, which some feel could lead to convictions being overturned.
“The constitutional right to legal counsel is a fundamental part of ensuring equal access to justice,” Goodman said in the release. “Missouri should do everything possible to ensure that all people receive a fair trial and that the convictions handed down by juries are upheld in appellate court.”
Goodman, a former prosecutor, is not alone in his belief that the crisis facing the state’s public defender system is a serious obstacle to the administration of justice.
“For too long, Missouri public defenders have faced heavy caseloads while receiving unreasonably low salaries,” said Sen. Michael Gibbons, R-Kirkwood, who is Senate president pro tem, in the release. “This bill will help us to recruit and retain more of our public defenders and allow them to focus on delivering a fair day in court to the people who rely on them.”
The bill, Senate Bill 611, has been sent to the House of Representatives, where it is awaiting approval. |
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National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)
1660 L St., NW, 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20036
(202) 872-8600 • Fax (202) 872-8690 •
assist@nacdl.org
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