The program, set to launch in fiscal year 2025-26, is expected to increase consistency in court-appointed representation and reduce excess costs, said Wendy Little, the director of the Office of Indigent Defense.
What this means
The new contract aims to improve predictability and cost efficiency for indigent representation, Little said.
“What we’re proposing is a contract just like the one that is currently being used with great success in the felony courts,” Little said. “It will give the county a little bit more predictability on what you’re going to spend each year for misdemeanor court-appointed representation.”
The contract provides for 21 attorneys across the three county courts handling misdemeanor cases. Little said each of those attorneys will handle 130 cases for a total cost of $65,000 per year for each attorney.
Little said this model would reduce duplicative costs by switching from a per-case to a per-defendant pay structure.
“If someone gets arrested and they have five cases, the payment rate is the same as if they were arrested with only one case,” Little said. “Right now, our current payment scheme, we pay additional amounts for each additional case.”
Little said there will be no change in payment for jail docket appointments and no changes to the payment for probable cause court; it will only impact misdemeanor offenses.
Diving in deeper
County Budget Officer Amanda Carter said the new plan is expected to result in a “very conservative” estimate of $40,000 in savings and possibly more.
“We're still anticipating $40,000-$45,000 savings off of this. And again, this is right, from what we can see from those misdemeanor courts. ... I think it might be even a little bit more of savings, so that 40,000 is very conservative of state of savings,” Carter said.
Carter said year-to-date the county has spent slightly over $4.4 million in appointed attorneys for criminal cases, $635,000 for civil court cases and almost $200,000 for juvenile cases, which includes felony, appeals and probate. Carter said the county budgets about $7.5 million annually.
