Public defenders

There is no post-holiday sluggishness at the Nevada Supreme Court. On Friday, just days after justices acted to prevent judges from arbitrarily hiding civil lawsuits to protect the wealthy and powerful, the court ordered sweeping changes to the state’s indigent defense system.

As with the standards regarding sealed lawsuits, the new rules covering public defenders were issued in response to a 2007 Review-Journal investigation. The newspaper’s series uncovered abuses by private attorneys assigned to indigent cases, conflicts resulting from judges selecting indigent counsel and a lack of oversight of attorney qualifications and performance.

The court order addressed each of those problems, stating that judges must never play a role in the assignment of public defenders, creating a statewide body to oversee criminal defense and establishing a rigid list of procedures for indigent attorneys to follow in every criminal and juvenile delinquency case they handle. All of these measures will help ensure poor Nevadans accused of a crime receive the competent counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment.

“This is the first instance in which a (state) Supreme Court has addressed so many crisis points in one order,” said David Carroll, director of research for the National Legal Aid and Defender Association and a member of the special commission that made the recommendations to the high court.

Just as important, the Supreme Court delayed imposing caseload caps on public defenders. Instead, Clark and Washoe counties were ordered to complete caseload studies by July 15.

It’s one thing for the Supreme Court to set forth administrative practices in the criminal justice system, but it’s entirely another for justices to assume control of county pursestrings and order taxpayers to hire more lawyers. Caseloads are a product of a variety of factors, not the least of which is the compensation awarded to counsel for the indigent. Clark County’s public defenders — like all Clark County workers — have some of the highest salaries and best retirement benefits in the nation.

There’s only so much taxpayer money to go around, and Clark County doesn’t have any to spare. Its discretionary budget blown to bits to bail out the sinking University Medical Center, the county now faces a $42 million budget deficit because of lower-than-expected revenue growth.

Mr. Carroll’s organization would have Clark County more than double the size of the public defender’s office. Because the county has blindly allowed personnel costs to run so high, administrators can barely afford to add a couple of staff attorneys per year. Tripling outsourcing to private attorneys won’t come cheap, either.

When Clark County conducts its caseload study, it should clearly define the cost to the public of various thresholds and identify which government offices would have to be closed to accommodate them.

Caseload caps aren’t part of the solution to what ails the state’s indigent defense system. Better cost management is.