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Legal, public and indigent defender budgets pose challenge
By Shar Porier/Herald/Review
BISBEE - While some county department heads can sit back knowing their budgets are complete, the budgets involving the legal defender office, public defender office and the indigent defense coordinator can only be estimated.
There is no way of knowing whether the rise in crime, the rejection of plea deals and the increase in jury trials will continue or subside.
In the 2008-2009 budget year, the general contingency fund had to cover more than half a million dollars for juries and defense lawyers, said County Administrator Mike Ortega at a recent budget work session with the county Board of Supervisors.
"There has been a commitment by the team (public defender, legal defender and indigent defense coordinator) to reduce those costs as best we can, but some costs are outside of the team's influence," added Ortega.
The county is setting expenses at $3.3 million for the three offices that are mandated by law to provide suspects with representation. Those offices bring in only around $300,000 in revenues.
Ortega has tasked deputy county administrator Jim Vlahovich to work with the departments to get a handle on the expenses of outside contracted attorneys.
The idea is to cut the number of cases that go to contracted defense attorneys and try to keep more cases in house.
Ortega and Lois Klein, finance director, still have concerns over sweeps of state enhancement funds that have traditionally helped pay indigent defense attorney costs.
Public Defender Mark Suagee told the supervisors that $61,000 had been spent on outside attorneys to appear in court on petitions to revoke probation. Now, as many as possible will be kept in-house to cut that cost.
As trials increase, so will the appeals and post-conviction rights, Suagee added. But, with four attorney positions open in the public defender's and legal defender's offices, current staff is having a hard time keeping up with the need.
"We don't pretend that we can handle them all, but we can take a bite out of it," emphasized Suagee.
Legal Defender Joel Larson explained that the offices were going to handle dispositions at the time of probation violation hearings instead of setting a later court date for the disposition of the prisoner to save transportation costs and attorney time.
"It's one of those kinks in the system that we can identify and unlink when we all put our minds to it," Larson added.
Herald/Review reporter Shar Porier can be reached at 515-4692 or by e-mail at shar.porier@bisbeereview.net.
There is no way of knowing whether the rise in crime, the rejection of plea deals and the increase in jury trials will continue or subside.
In the 2008-2009 budget year, the general contingency fund had to cover more than half a million dollars for juries and defense lawyers, said County Administrator Mike Ortega at a recent budget work session with the county Board of Supervisors.
"There has been a commitment by the team (public defender, legal defender and indigent defense coordinator) to reduce those costs as best we can, but some costs are outside of the team's influence," added Ortega.
The county is setting expenses at $3.3 million for the three offices that are mandated by law to provide suspects with representation. Those offices bring in only around $300,000 in revenues.
Ortega has tasked deputy county administrator Jim Vlahovich to work with the departments to get a handle on the expenses of outside contracted attorneys.
The idea is to cut the number of cases that go to contracted defense attorneys and try to keep more cases in house.
Ortega and Lois Klein, finance director, still have concerns over sweeps of state enhancement funds that have traditionally helped pay indigent defense attorney costs.
Public Defender Mark Suagee told the supervisors that $61,000 had been spent on outside attorneys to appear in court on petitions to revoke probation. Now, as many as possible will be kept in-house to cut that cost.
As trials increase, so will the appeals and post-conviction rights, Suagee added. But, with four attorney positions open in the public defender's and legal defender's offices, current staff is having a hard time keeping up with the need.
"We don't pretend that we can handle them all, but we can take a bite out of it," emphasized Suagee.
Legal Defender Joel Larson explained that the offices were going to handle dispositions at the time of probation violation hearings instead of setting a later court date for the disposition of the prisoner to save transportation costs and attorney time.
"It's one of those kinks in the system that we can identify and unlink when we all put our minds to it," Larson added.
Herald/Review reporter Shar Porier can be reached at 515-4692 or by e-mail at shar.porier@bisbeereview.net.
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