South Carolina: Public defenders crunched between cases, cash

By Meg Kinnard Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina's system of public defenders has attorneys saddled with caseloads that eclipse recommended levels, increasingly relies on students instead of paid workers and owes money to private lawyers whose bills can't be paid. The crunch stems from a recession that has made more and more people eligible for free legal help while at the same time sapping state budget money that helps ensure poor defendants get lawyers. Some advocates say the growing crisis could prevent some people from getting the proper aid they need in court. "It's going to all implode," said Sue Berkowitz, executive director of the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, an advocacy group for the poor. "Our system of government is not just executive and legislative, it's also judicial. And public defenders serve such an important part of all of that." South Carolina's legal aid jurisdictions are carved up to match its 16 judicial circuits. To supplement funding from the counties they represent, public defenders rely on the South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense to provide the majority of their budgets, with the cash doled out based on population levels. County-level funding has stayed fairly constant, but circuits have seen state funding slashed by at least half over two fiscal years. "My guys can only do so much at one time," said Gene Hood, chief public defender in Allendale and Beaufort counties. "We are so outnumbered, and they keep giving law enforcement everything under the sun and giving the defense side of it a meager nothing." Last year, the commission's budget was $27 million, $13 million of which was passed on to public defenders. That chunk also included $1.7 million in one-time stimulus cash and taxes -- without which commission executive director Patton Adams said defenders will struggle this year. To recoup that shortfall, Adams has restricted travel and relies heavily on law students to do work once delegated to temporary employees. "What we have tried to do is keep this ship afloat," Adams said. Attorney caseloads already several times recommended limits are expected to increase as more struggling people qualify for public defense. On average, Adams said South Carolina's 199 public defenders handled 467 cases apiece during the 2009-10 fiscal year -- up 22 percent since 2007-08. National standards recommend that attorneys handling felony cases, like some public defenders, have no more than 125 clients a year, according to the National Legal Aid & Defender Association. Hood said his seven Beaufort County attorneys each carry 400 cases. The numbers are similar in Allendale County -- home to chronically high unemployment -- where three attorneys also cover two other counties. In Cherokee County, two public defenders average 300 cases each, with new clients coming all the time. "We've been able to hold on, but I'm not sure how much longer we're going to be able to," said Clay Allen, chief public defender in Spartanburg and Cherokee counties. "One thing hasn't slowed down, and that is the number of people that we're being asked and expected to represent." The commission gets help from private attorneys who work cases and submit vouchers. For the past two budget years, legislators have not appropriated any money to defray the cost of outside lawyers for civil cases. The commission now holds about $700,000 in IOUs. Also on Allen's mind are appeals. If his attorneys can't provide adequate defenses, their clients might have grounds for appeals, keeping their cases in the system longer. "I don't think we are unnecessarily delaying cases," Allen said. "But by the same token, the cases are still coming." National advocates are watching states like South Carolina with an eye toward making sure clients' interests stay well-represented. "All their hope is in an attorney who doesn't have the resources," said Tanya Greene, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. "When we guarantee the right to counsel to everyone, regardless of whether or not they should pay, the counsel has to be meaningful." Typical days for people tasked with meeting those demands start with calls to prosecutors to solidify deals. Client meetings are hushed, five-minute conversations in courtroom corners. Tables are piled high with case files that grow while lawyers spend hours in hearings for multiple clients. In between, attorneys hustle to county jails. A case heading to trial that demands any further investigation brings with it another price tag. Workloads are even heavier for defenders handling cases that may bring less jail time. Each of the two attorneys assigned to Richland County magistrate's court has 500 cases, from zoning violations to criminal domestic violence. Often, they've never met clients before trial. On a recent day in court, where he was managing the guilty pleas of more than 20 clients at once, one public defender apologized to a client for having to rush away to help someone else. "Sorry man," he said, as he turned to help another defendant waiting across the courtroom. "I'm just trying to juggle five different balls at once." Published: Tue, Apr 19, 2011