Lawyers Swamped With Work Public Defenders’ Growing Caseload Can Slow Down Justice For The Accused

It was a marathon of sorts that Brian Long ran last Wednesday.

As a Kootenai County public defender, charged with defending low-income people accused of crimes, Long’s race was run through the halls of the courthouse.

With 14 clients scheduled for preliminary hearings, three waiting to be sentenced and one ready for an arraignment, as well as eight appointments with various clients, he spent Wednesday speeding from one hearing to the next to the next.

By 4 p.m., the pace had caught up with him. A judge had to postpone two sentencing hearings for Long’s clients because Long, 31, hadn’t had time to go over the pre-sentence reports with them as required.

“We need about two more public defenders is what we need,” a frustrated 1st District Judge Gary Haman said in court.

With a growing number of cases and a chief defender in the process of resigning, the Kootenai County public defender’s office is swamped.

The office’s seven attorneys rush from courtroom to courtroom, often scheduled to appear in numerous places at one time. Their caseloads sometimes leave them with little time to meet with clients and little or no time to investigate crime scenes.

During the 1993-94 fiscal year, the public defender’s office handled 3,415 cases - more than triple the 950 cases it handled in 1989.

“It seems like everybody is just trying to keep their heads above water,” said Suzie Graham, a deputy public defender for almost two years.

The problem is not limited to the public defender’s office.

“I think the entire criminal justice system in this county is just about to blow up,” said Haman. “It reminds me of a boiler.”

The number of criminal cases in the county has increased by 20 percent in the last four years, from - 21,363 in 1990 to 25,718 in 1994.

The growth has swamped public defenders, prosecutors, judges and court clerks.

But, Haman said, “Of all the offices, my guess is that the public defender’s office is the most stretched.”

Jonathan Hull, chief public defender, points out that while there are seven public defenders, there are close to 20 prosecutors working throughout the county.

Accused criminals with enough money hire a private attorney. However, with many Kootenai County residents making $5 and $6 an hour, many rely on the public defender’s office, Haman said.

For example, nine felony trials are scheduled on July 24 before Judge James Judd, but only one is being handled by a private attorney.

And Hull’s recent announcement that he will resign as the chief public defender also has affected the office.

Although Hull has promised to stay until the new chief is selected, he is not carrying a full caseload.

Hull tends mostly to the managerial aspects of the office, and stands in when his deputy defenders can’t be everywhere at once.

By 9 a.m. Friday, Long’s day was getting off to another turbo start. With trials and arraignments, he was scheduled to be in four courtrooms at the same time.

He can’t always make it.

“I sit there with cases ready to go and Brian (Long) isn’t there because he’s in some other courtroom,” Haman said. “You can’t blame him. I’d just like to see an office that is adequately staffed so we don’t run into these problems.”

Graham had 32 court hearings in one day earlier this month.

“We’re so busy sometimes we can’t even meet with people before going to court,” she said.

Graham knows that delays from her office affect others. “That means the whole system is backed up,” she said Thursday - a slow day for her with only 15 court cases.

The public defenders say they are working hard to make sure their caseload doesn’t hurt their clients.

Graham, Long and the other defenders work weekends and often are in the office by 6 a.m. or earlier. They do not get paid overtime.

“I have a duty to do the best job I can,” Long said.

And Kootenai County judges praise the work the public defender’s office has been doing.

“I think they’re doing an excellent job for the resources they have,” Judge Robert Burton said.

Long said the office needs two more attorneys and an investigator.

But the public defender’s office did not ask for additional attorneys in the 1995-96 budget request.

County Clerk Tom Taggart said considering their caseload he was surprised. But, he pointed out that it was clear the commissioners were looking for a trim budget.

The office asked for two additional deputies last year and got the money for one. Hull, who describes himself as a fiscal conservative, said he wanted to wait two years before asking again.

Taggart also pointed out there is no space in the office for another attorney. Deputy defenders already have doubled up in offices.

Still, Kootenai County Commissioner Dick Compton said he wants to discuss the situation with Hull.

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