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Missouri Public Defenders are Subject to Legal Action by Former Clients, Appeals Court Says
January 2, 2008
Kansas City Star
By Tony Rizzo
Missouri public defenders do not have official immunity from legal action by former clients, a Missouri Court of Appeals panel ruled Wednesday.
Addressing the issue for the first time, the appeals court for the western district overturned a Boone County judge who had dismissed a suit brought by Bernardo Costa.
Costa is serving a prison sentence for statutory rape, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections. He alleged that his public defender failed to call witnesses whom Costa wanted to testify on his behalf in a post-conviction hearing.
Because the immunity issue had not been addressed by Missouri courts, the appeals court looked at decisions in other states which generally hold that attorneys working as public defenders are not protected by the same type of immunity from civil damages enjoyed by other public officials.
Unlike prosecutors or judges, who are acting on behalf of the state, a public defender “is an advocate who, once appointed, owes a duty only to his client, the indigent defendant. His role does not differ from that of privately retained counsel,” stated a Florida appeals court decision cited in Wednesday’s decision.
The appeals court decision did not address the merits of Costa’s claim against his attorney, only that the lower court erred in dismissing the case. It ordered the case sent back to the trial court for further proceedings.
An official with the Missouri public defender’s system did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday. |
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