Page 17 - Flathead Beacon // 10.21.15

While it is hard to nail down a firm num- ber, Aemisegger said it’s not uncommon for attorneys in his office to work on more than 100 felony cases at once.
According to data from the OPD, of the nearly 100 attorneys working for the agency during fiscal year 2014, about 90 percent took on a larger-than-recom- mended caseload. Case weight hours are estimated by each type of offense. For example, in a felony DUI case, a law- yer can expect to work at least 15 hours. A felony sex offense is expected to take upwards of 50 hours and a homicide can take upwards of 100 hours, although Aemisegger notes that those are sug- gested guidelines and more complex cases can take longer.
In the Region 1 office in Kalispell, an attorney expected to take on about 1,500 hours of casework a year ended up work- ing 1,924 case hours. Aemisegger said such long hours and stress can lead to burnout and high turnover. It also means that some cases can fall through the cracks as attorneys take on more clients.
“We place a very high value on repre- senting our clients well, but in most cases that takes a lot of time,” he said.
Fourteen full-time attorneys work in the Region 1 office and another four work at a satellite office in Polson. The OPD also relies on 36 contract attorneys who help in outlying communities, like in Libby, or when there are conflicts of interest. Con- flicts arise when there is more than one
defendant in one case. Aemisegger said it would be impossible for a group of attor- neys in one office to effectively represent clients who may be passing the blame on others.
“At trial you can’t have one attorney representing a client who is throwing one of your other clients under the bus,” he said.
Aemisegger said there are defendants in Flathead County who could get out of jail faster if they had the resources to hire their own attorney who could devote more time to their cases. He said the delays in justice have a trickle-down effect across the system and can result in crowded jails, an issue Flathead County is familiar with. The Flathead County Detention Center was built to handle about 60 inmates, but it frequently holds more than 100 every night. Aemiseg- ger said the price of judicial backlogs and overcrowded jails often falls on the taxpayer.
During the 2015 Legislature, a task force was created to determine if restruc- turing the state public defender office could relieve the burden faced by attor- neys. Dave Bohyer, research director for the Legislative Services Division, said the committee (made up of state legisla- tors and members of the public, includ- ing a judge and attorney) would also study how pubic defense offices are run in other states. Bohyer said the primary goal is to make the offices more efficient
and find ways to reduce its high turnover rate among staff and attorneys. The task force’s next meeting is Dec. 10 in Helena.
Issues within the public defender sys- tem extend beyond Montana’s borders. A few years ago, former U.S. Attorney Gen- eral Eric Holder said the system was in a “state of crisis” nationwide. Earlier this year, the ACLU sued a California county where 60 public defenders were handling 42,000 cases annually. The American Bar Association recommends capping the number of cases a single attorney han- dles at 150 felonies and 400 misdemean- ors every year. Because of those high case
rates, Zupanic with the ACLU said, some defendants take plea deals and admit guilt just to get out of jail faster.
“Clients may feel pressure to take a plea deal even if they are innocent because they know that their attorney just doesn’t have the time to put together a good case,” she said.
Aemisegger said the OPD could use more attorneys, but added that the OPD is constantly fighting for more funding. Zupanic said the ACLU would support a system in which funding keeps pace with the agency’s caseload.
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ACCESS TO JUSTICE FORUM TO BE HELD THIS WEEK
Access to effective and timely representation is just one of many issues facing low-income Montanans in the state’s justice system. Those topics will be the subject of a statewide Access to Justice Forum being put on by the Montana Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission. The first event kicks off at Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 4 p.m at the Arts and Technology Building.
The forum will feature a panel of state and local justice officials, including Supreme Court Justice James Jeremiah Shea, District Court Judge Heidi Ulbricht, Justice of the Peace Dan Wilson, former State Bar of Montana presidents Don Murray and Randy Snyder and Judicial District Court Clerk Peg Allison. The panel will discuss how to make better use of legal services that are currently available. Montanans are asked to participate in order to help the Commission better understand the challenges still facing Montana’s court system and to find practical solutions.
“People come to court for help with the most important issues in their lives,” Justice Supreme Court Justice Shea said. “Narrowing Montana’s substantial justice gap will help ensure justice for all, regard- less of income level, location, or status.”
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contemporary designs. His jewelry creations are known for their simplicity and clean, fluid lines. Mark's philosophy of jewelry is to create
simplicity and clean, fluid lines. Mark's philosophy of jewelry is to create designs as wearable art.
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OCTOBER 21, 2015
FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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