Deal Reached To Reduce Missouri Public Defender Workloads
The ACLU of Missouri and the state’s public defender system have reached a deal meant to ensure that low-income defendants are properly represented when they go to court.
The agreement made public on Monday sets maximum caseloads for the state’s 500-plus public defenders, and allows them to turn down cases to stay within a time limit that is based on how much work should be spent defending different types of crimes. It also makes it clear that defendants must be screened quickly to see if they qualify for a public defender.
The proposed settlement still needs the approval of a federal judge. The state’s lead public defender, Michael Barrett, declined to comment, citing the ongoing federal litigation. The ACLU did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A federal lawsuit filed by the ACLU in 2017 was the latest attempt to solve an issue that has bedeviled the state for years. Studies dating back to 1993 showed public defenders were handling too many cases. The ACLU finally sued because there had been no efforts toward improvement, which the organization’s legal director, Tony Rothert, called “untenable.”
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