IamA New Orleans Public Defenders and a reporter covering the public defense crisis. AMA!

I used to work for the Orleans Public Defender's office and it sad to see such wonderful people and a great organization in such trouble.

My question is, besides the effort in the legislature to reallocate funds from death penalty appeal cases, are there other efforts by state legislators to create a permanent, stable source of funding for the office?

I think momentum is building for change, but it likely won't happen in this legislative session. We're hopeful that once the state's overall funding crisis gets in the rear view mirror a bit we'll be able to have an engaged debate about funding reform for public defenders.

Does anyone in Baton Rouge consider this a priority? Does the governor at least consider this to be an important issue?

Fixing mass incarceration, the multiple crises in the criminal justice system, and creating a fair system requires not only changes in sentencing reform, prison reform, etc. but funding reform for public defense. Many aspects of reform have been focused on but not public defense, which is vital for these things to change. Write Governor Edwards and let him know that.

I will have to do that. Are there rallies or demonstrations planned for public defense during this legislative session?

Gov. John Bel Edwards is proposing a 61.9% reduction to the Louisiana Public Defender Board budget. People in the state can write to their legislators and oppose such drastic cuts through this link: https://www.votervoice.net/mobile/LACDL/Campaigns/44709/Respond

In response to whether folks in the state Legislature consider this a priority, our state politics reporter Julia O'Donoghue writes: "There are a few people, but it’s not a broad group at this point. It’s only a handful of legislators. It’s being discussed, but they are overwhelmed with other issues, such as seven of the nine hospitals that the state supports closing due to lack of funding, or universities going into financial exigency."

How can the state keep people imprisoned if they don't have access to a fair trial? The ACLU's lawsuit makes no sense to me (not a lawyer) and why aren't they working to hold the parish/city/state accountable? At what point does it become unreasonable to hold a person a for a crime they haven't been convicted of and isn't this punishing people for being poor?

In a ruling on Friday, Criminal District Court Judge Arthur Hunter suggested that holding a person for several months in jail without representation is unreasonable. He ordered that seven such men be released, though their charges won't be dismissed. Our criminal justice reporter Ken Daley wrote about this today: http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2016/04/orleans_judge_halts_prosecutio.html

Thank you for the AMA and thank you for the incredibly important work you do!

1. What will happen to your office and those accused of crimes in Orleans Parish if the ACLU suit or the LA legislature fail to change anything?

2. What can regular folk do to help fix the funding crisis?

3. Lastly, any advice for a law student trying to be a public defender?

Here's a link to the donation page on the OPD's website: http://www.opdla.org/donate

Has the ACLU's lawsuit against your office been a significant distraction or do you consider it a helpful tool to boost awareness of the funding issues you face?

It's not a distraction, but it does require attention and work. I look at the lawsuit as an opportunity to implement solutions and make the right to a lawyer accessible and meaningful in Louisiana. No one likes to be sued but this lawsuit provides a potential vehicle for relief.

I seriously dont understand why the ACLU of all groups is suing another group who is being fucked by the government. Its honestly not your fault that you have to turn away people, theres just no man power or money left to handle all the cases. What does the ACLU think is going to happen even if they win? Its not like money magically will appear out of nowhere and everything will be perfect. Even if the people in jail are released by the court, the charges are still there and someone still has to defend and prosecute them. It seems like a bandage solution rather than one that gets at the heart of the problem...

Why dont they go after the government who is not properly funding the system? Them suing you guys seems like kicking a person when they are already down

One goal, if not the main goal, of the lawsuit was to put pressure on the Legislature to repair the inadequate way it funds public defense in the state, which is primarily through court fines and fees. For example, defendants pay $40 for a public defender and an extra $45 if they're found or plead guilty. At the time the suit was filed, Marjorie Esman, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana, wrote this in a statement: "In Orleans Parish, as in the rest of Louisiana, funding for public defenders is inherently unreliable and prone to crippling shortages. To pay for public defense, the state relies on the fines and fees collected from the public for traffic tickets and other convictions — a system that makes public defenders dependent on excessive policing and draconian sentencing that work against the people they defend." Read more here: http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2016/01/aclu_lawsuit_comes_as_no_surpr.html

Do you believe that this issue is unique to the Louisiana (or New Orleans) justice system, or simply a very visible symptom of national attitudes and practices?

Edit: Thanks for the reply. I'll have to look into the PA public defense situation more closely (it's hard to see anything in the PA justice system other than kids for cash and the fallout from AG Kane). A special thanks for for fighting a battle most people wouldn't touch with a 40 foot pole.

Edit Edit: Looks like the suit in the PA supreme court is still limping along. Fun fact: PA public defense funding is determined at the county level.

The problem is particularly bad here, but it’s definitely not limited to New Orleans or Louisiana. The public defender’s office in Missouri recently warned that they too could face a federal lawsuit if things don’t improve. They’ve asked the state for a $25 million increase for the next fiscal year, but the governor’s budget proposal calls for just $1.5 million extra, according to KMBC.com

Derwyn wrote about how widespread the problem is in an Op-Ed for the New York Times here

“A 2013 study in Missouri provided a snapshot of the problem. For serious felonies, defenders spent an average of only nine hours preparing their cases; 47 hours were needed. For misdemeanors, they spent two hours when 12 hours were necessary...."

“The problem of grossly underfunded public defender organizations with grossly excessive caseloads is a systemic, endemic problem going back 50 years,” said Stephen F. Hanlon, general counsel for the National Association for Public Defense, who is overseeing the current studies.