Public defenders feel squeeze

“If the caseloads are too big, our people cannot spend the time they need to spend on a case and with their clients,’’ Carlow said. “Our biggest initial concern is cases not moving as quickly as they can when people are locked up.’’

The Office of Chief Public Defender, which handles more than 90,000 cases a year, has about 400 full-time workers, half of whom are lawyers.

After state employee unions rejected a $1.6 billion labor savings deal last month, the legislature told the public defenders’ office that it needed to cut its two-year, $128 million budget by about $9.6 million, or 7.5 percent. But it is now unclear whether those cuts will have to be made after all, because union leaders have launched a new effort to get a savings deal passed.

The public defenders’ office cut all 30 of its per diem independent contractor positions last week, including 16 lawyers, and laid off 12 temporary employees, including seven lawyers. All 42 of those workers helped keep caseload levels down, but needed to be cut regardless of any union savings deal, Carlow said.

To meet the savings mandated by the Legislature, the public defenders’ office is proposing laying off 24 full-time employees and eliminating another nine jobs through attrition or retirements. The agency has not decided yet how many of those positions will be lawyers or when the job cuts will be made.

State judicial officials have compiled budget cut plans that they worry would trample on people’s constitutional rights. The Judicial Branch is proposing laying off about 450 employees and closing four courthouses and a juvenile detention center. The Criminal Justice Division, which oversees prosecutors, is planning to cut 88 jobs. The reductions are part of what public officials across the country are calling a funding crisis for the nation’s judicial systems.