PDs of the World Unite . . .

The stereotype of the public defender, especially in the state courts, is one of overwork, underpayment, lack of resources, and clients who get "represented" in only the most basic sense of the word. While I'm sure the reality on the ground varies from state to state, it's gotten so bad in some places that PD offices are simply not taking new cases, according to yesterday's New York Times:

Public defenders’ offices in at least seven states are refusing to take on new cases or have sued to limit them, citing overwhelming workloads that they say undermine the constitutional right to counsel for the poor.

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In September, a Florida judge ruled that the public defenders’ office in Miami-Dade County could refuse to represent many of those arrested on lesser felony charges so its lawyers could provide a better defense for other clients. Over the last three years, the average number of felony cases handled by each lawyer in a year has climbed to close to 500, from 367, officials said, and caseloads for lawyers assigned to misdemeanor cases have risen to 2,225, from 1,380.

Now, I'm assuming that the folks who aren't getting represented by the PD offices are being represented by appointed private counsel. They don't get paid much, either, but I'm sure that it will cost more to pay those guys than to up the staff in the PD office and provide them proper funding to handle additional cases. As usual, short term bean counters in the state legislatures are missing the longer view.

BTW, be sure to check out the short video on the Times site. It'll give your a pretty good idea of how things work in the state courts.