Report: Public defenders need lighter caseloads

Public defenders in the Las Vegas and Reno areas face overwhelming caseloads that result in a lack of "competent and diligent" assistance to poor people charged with crimes, a new report states.

The report from the Spangenberg Group and the Center for Justice, Law and Society at George Mason University adds that big increases in staffing are needed to ensure that Nevada meets a long-standing U.S. Supreme Court requirement for adequate indigent counsel.

The report, released Wednesday, says there are nearly 100 public defenders in Clark County, encompassing Las Vegas, but up to 90 more lawyers are needed to adequately handle the caseload. In Washoe County, encompassing Reno, there are nearly 40 public defenders but up to 28 more are needed.

The state Supreme Court directed the two counties - Nevada's population centers - to complete the study. That followed the high court's adoption last October of standards to ensure that indigent defendants get proper counsel.

While the cost of upgrading public defender services is high, justices have been told that not complying with the U.S. Supreme Court's mandate for those services opens the state and its counties to possible lawsuits.

The high court said previously that the average caseload for a public defender is 364 felony and gross misdemeanor cases in the Las Vegas area and 327 cases in the Reno area. The standard recommended by the National Legal Aid and Defender Association is 150 cases.

"This study says these offices are in crisis," said Gary Peck of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada. "The lawyers in these offices are carrying caseloads that are overwhelming, that exceed all the standards that have been set for indigent defenders."

"This is not a discretionary funding issue," Peck added. "The Constitution mandates the provision of adequate, competent representation for indigent defense."

David Carroll of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association said Nevada, unlike 30 other states, "has abdicated its constitutional duties" and forced counties to cover much of the public defender costs.

The 2009 Legislature considered a measure that would have appropriated $124 million to reimburse the counties for public defender costs, but the bill died in committee.