Land Use Services

As a result of the P.D. having fewer conflict cases and fewer Marsden hearings granted, there has been a nine percent decrease in contract attorney felony cases and a 15 percent decrease in misdemeanor cases. The contract attorneys received average fees of $975 per defendant. The P.D. cost per defendant is $547. The reduction in contract attorney cases has saved the County over $700,000. Although the Public Defender’s office received increased staffing in 2006-2007, the increased number of countywide criminal filings, the decrease in declared conflicts and decreased Marsden hearings has resulted in increasing the P.D. caseload rather than lessening it. The Public Defender’s Office has need for 18 additional Deputy Public Defender positions (an increase to 129 positions). The average caseload would be 504 cases per attorney (65,000 anticipated cases divided by 129 attorneys = 504) which is still higher than the attorney caseload of Riverside County or Orange County. In 2006, the average caseload per Public Defender investigator was: COUNTY NUMBER OF TOTAL CASES CASES PER INVESTIGATORS INVESTIGATOR Orange 79 77,500 981 Riverside 39 35,403 908 San Bernardino 22 52,723 2,396 The Public Defender’s office does not have a comprehensive case management system. This system would enable attorneys to access files from the office or the courtroom. It would save clerical staff time, incorporate updated technology and enable multi-department coordination to enhance motion writing, case organization, and staff efficiency.