Shortage of public defenders panned

Clark County has too few public defenders to adequately represent indigent defendants accused of crimes, according to a report released Wednesday.

The report by the Spangenberg Group and the Center for Justice, Law and Society at George Mason University said Clark County needs 31 to 90 more full-time public defenders. The county currently has 98.

The report, which was commissioned last year by Clark and Washoe counties, also found that Washoe County has a severe public defender shortage.

The findings pave the way for possible implementation of caseload limits for public defenders, an idea the state Supreme Court put on hold pending completion of the report by the legal research groups.

Based on an hour-by-hour analysis of public defender workloads in the state's two biggest counties, the report is clear about the consequences of understaffing:

"None of the public defender agencies in these jurisdictions is able to provide competent and diligent legal services to all of its clients due to a substantial excess number of cases and an insufficient number of staff."

The Spangenberg report is the third report since 2000 to examine the Clark County public defender's office. During this span, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups have expressed concern about the constitutionality of indigent defense services in the county and state.

The latest report says that Clark County public defenders each handle about 215 felony cases per year, a number that far exceeds American Bar Association standards and the caseloads of other public defenders around the country.

Though the 59-page report falls short of proposing specific caseload caps, the Supreme Court is now faced with an easy choice, said David Carroll, research director of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association.

"These numbers show the Supreme Court is perfectly able to take the final step by setting caseload standards," he said.

The only alternative to that, Carroll said, is to allow overburdened public defenders to start refusing cases.

Clark County Public Defender Phil Kohn said Wednesday he planned to meet with county management about the Spangenberg report. He declined to say whether he's considering refusing cases.

County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said the county needs to explore alternatives besides adding staff at Kohn's office.

"We also have to look at ways to streamline the court system," she said.

For nearly two years, the Supreme Court and an indigent defense commission formed by the court have debated issues including performance standards and caseload limits for public defenders.

The commission was created after a Review-Journal series in March 2007 about flaws in Clark County's indigent defense system.

Last October, the state's high court adopted a detailed set of performance guidelines that went into effect in April. The Spangenberg report lauds these guidelines as possibly "the most extensive and comprehensive" in the country.

The Spangenberg analysis of caseloads was conducted before the performance guidelines were implemented, however.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that there will be an even greater need to properly staff public defender offices now that these performance standards have kicked in," said Gary Peck, executive director of the ACLU of Nevada.

Carroll, who advised the Supreme Court's indigent defense commission, said part of the solution to the caseload crisis is more financial support from state government.

The annual cost of public defense in Nevada is almost $45 million. About three-quarters of that is paid by Clark County for its public defender system. The state pays only about $2.5 million of the cost of indigent defense in all of Nevada.

Federal Public Defender Franny Forsman, a member of the Supreme Court's indigent defense commission, said the Spangenberg report is further evidence that Nevada needs to fix problems with public defense.

"The report says people aren't being adequately represented in Clark and Washoe counties," she said. "In other words, there are people going to jail today because there are insufficient resources to adequately defend them."

Contact reporter Alan Maimon at amaimon@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0404.