County's judges and public defenders are sued over alleged inadequate representation
Seven individuals have sued an Indiana county, contending that its public defender services are inadequate.
Among other issues, the suit alleges, each Johnson County public defender is supervised by an individual judge, which compromises the public defenders’ independence, Courthouse News reports.
Also at issue are what the suit describes as excessive caseloads preventing public defenders from providing adequate representation that meets constitutional standards. For example, one public defender had 176 felony cases in 2014 while also maintaining a private law practice.
Standards set by the Indiana Public Defender Commission allegedly call for a maximum of 120 to 150 felony cases for full-time public defenders and 60 to 75 felony cases for part-time public defenders, depending on the level of support staff that they have available.
Because all Johnson County judges are named as defendants, the suit was filed in Marion County on Thursday. The lead plaintiff, who seeks class action status for the case, is Kenneth Alford.
Other defendants include Johnson County commissioners and the public defenders themselves.
In addition to a court order requiring that public defender services not be overseen by Johnson County courts, the suit seeks adequate funding and reduced caseloads for the public defender system, plus damages for the plaintiffs and attorney fees, the Daily Journal reports.
Currently, public defenders are paid $50,000 to $55,000 a year under a contract arrangement, the suit says.
Attorney Jonathan Little of Indianapolis is one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs. He tells the newspaper that the plaintiffs hope to prompt statewide change with their lawsuit. He said a separate petition was filed with the Indiana Supreme Court, asking it to find that Johnson County’s public defender system doesn’t meet constitutional requirements.
The articles don’t include comment from any of the defendants.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Federal judge finds 2 cities’ public defender programs deficient; will he OK a federal monitor?”
