Public defender office following guidelines

By KEN de la BASTIDE
Tribune enterprise editor

Sat, May 17 2008

— Public defenders will see a reduction in their case load as a result of a decision by the Howard County Council to follow state guidelines.
As a result, Howard County will be reimbursed by the Indiana Public Defender Commission for up to 40 percent of the cost for representing indigent people in felony cases.
Steve Raquet, chief public defender, said the case load for felony deputy public defenders could decrease by as much as 40 percent of their current case load.
Case loads depend on having sufficient support staff and the type of cases a public defender is handling, he said.
“The public defenders have always done what was necessary to represent their clients,” Raquet said. “They were working many more hours per week in the past than what they were being compensated for.”
By meeting the state guidelines the county will be reimbursed an estimated $300,000 per year.
Raquet said with the adding of Superior 4 in 2006 it was the right time for the county to adopt the state guidelines.
State funding for the public defender program has been increasing and is $10 million for 2007. Raquet said the request will be made to increase state funding to $16 million.
“A lot of people are realizing the importance of the program,” Raquet said. “State reimbursement to the counties is averaging 33 or 34 percent.”
Raquet said not all cases are eligible for reimbursement.
“We handle many cases that are not reimbursable,” Raquet said. “All felony cases are reimbursable. All misdemeanor cases and civil contempt cases are not.”
Last year the Howard County Public Defender’s office handled more than 2,000 cases and 21 appeals.
Raquet said the office currently has a staff of one full-time deputy and 19 part-time public defenders. There are openings for two additional part-time public defenders.
“The number of cases has been increasing every year,” he said. “I hope we don’t need additional people during the 2007 budget cycle.”
A part-time public defender receives a salary of $39,175 which is the same as a part-time deputy prosecutor as set by the state. Each part-time deputy also receives a $2,000 allowance for office expenses.
A side benefit for Howard County is that with a lessened work load, cases will make it through the court system more quickly and ease the overcrowding conditions at the county jail.
“From what I’ve been told, in Tippecanoe County two judges followed the time it took to conclude a case after they went to the state guidelines,” Raquet said. “The average case went from being disposed in nine months to four months.”
Ken de la Bastide can be reached at (765) 454 -8580 or via e-mail at ken.delabastide@kokomotribune.com