Panel endorses limiting public defender cases

A Nevada Supreme Court commission on Tuesday endorsed putting a cap on the number of criminal cases assigned to overburdened county public defenders.

The commission also recommended performance standards for indigent defense lawyers, rules to ensure their independence, and reforms to help struggling public defender systems in rural Nevada.

The caseload proposals would have far-reaching effects on the local criminal justice system and were the subject of heated debate at the commission's Tuesday meeting.

A majority of the panel of judges, lawyers, county officials and legal advocates voted to limit public defenders across the state to a maximum of 192 felony cases per year. Caps would also be put on capital and life sentence cases.

Attorneys with the Clark County public defender's office currently have felony caseloads approaching 400.

"My office has historically been seen as a MASH unit to get people through the process as quickly and efficiently as possible," County Public Defender Phil Kohn said at Tuesday's meeting. "I think this commission recognizes that is no longer acceptable."

The caseload standards were proposed to help bring indigent defense systems statewide in compliance with American Bar Association standards. Most systems currently fall far short of that goal.

In a survey by the commission, Kohn and his counterparts in Washoe County said their offices were not providing "adequate, appropriate and competent" representation to defendants.

The commission, which lacks authority to enact changes, is expected later this year to issue a final report. The panel will meet again later this summer to finalize proposals that will be shared with the full Supreme Court and state and local lawmakers.

The Supreme Court formed the panel after a Review-Journal series in March detailed problems with Clark County's system of assigning private lawyers to defendants who cannot be represented by Kohn's office because of a conflict of interest. The so-called contract attorney system was overhauled last month.

Assistant County Manager Liz Quillin was one of three commission members on Tuesday who voted against establishing caseload limits.

She said such rules might require major and expensive staffing increases at Kohn's office, the district attorney's office, and court administration.

"It could bankrupt us," she said.

District Judge Stewart Bell and Sparks Justice of the Peace Kevin Higgins also voted against case limits.

"If you adopt this and go over to the county commission, they're not going to do anything," Bell said. "They're not going to care."

Bell and Quillin's comments raised the ire of several commission members.

"This isn't a discretionary fiscal matter or a political matter," said Gary Peck, executive director for the ACLU of Nevada. "It's about how can we meet our obligations pursuant to the Constitution."

Peck has said his group would consider suing Clark County if caseloads aren't reined in.

The commission on Tuesday also endorsed a series of performance standards for public defenders, including requirements that lawyers contact clients prior to the first court hearing in a case.

In response to the Review-Journal series, the commission further discussed ways to diminish the role judges play in hiring and overseeing contract attorneys.

The panel, which met by teleconference in Las Vegas and Carson City, also addressed problems with indigent defense in rural Nevada. Some of these difficulties were highlighted earlier this week in a Review-Journal story about Nye County's public defender system.

The commission members said an ineffective state public defender's office is the root of the problem.

Only four counties and Carson City currently use the state office, which was created in 1971 to provide indigent defense in rural areas.

Nye and other counties have opted out of the state system, citing cost and quality of representation, among other reasons. The state paid for nearly 100 percent of services in counties using the office three decades ago, but now covers just 20 percent of the cost.

Only Arizona, Pennsylvania and Utah rely more on county funding of public defense than Nevada, according to the Spangenberg Group, a national research organization that studies legal matters.

As a result, Nye County and many rural areas depend on flat-fee contracts with law firms and, in cases with conflicts of interest, on any attorney willing to regularly take cases in rural Nevada.

The Review-Journal found that some appointed attorneys in Nye County have a history of disciplinary problems with the State Bar. Others spend massive amounts of time travelling to and from the county for cases.

Nye County's problems are aggravated by rapid growth in Pahrump.

State law requires that judicial townships have one justice of the peace for every 34,000 people. Pahrump has well surpassed that milestone, according to 2006 population figures certified by the governor's office. Its population is more than 37,000.

Gary Hollis, chairman of the Nye County Commission, said the county will comply with state law, adding that he hadn't seen the population figures obtained by the Review-Journal.

The commission members said a unified approach to indigent defense would help court systems struggling with growth and other issues.

Several states have effective state offices that handle cases in all non-urban areas, said David Carroll, a commission member and research director for the National Legal Aid and Defender Association in Washington, D.C.

Supreme Court Justice Michael Cherry, the head of the indigent defense commission, said current methods of public defense in rural Nevada are unacceptable.

"The obvious answer is we need a state public defender's office that properly functions and is properly funded," he said on Tuesday.

Deputy Federal Public Defender John Lambrose agreed and called on the state legislature to take action: "The current system is busted. It can't go on."