Idaho’s state office of public defense said it needs more money to fill dozens of attorney vacancies as the office is struggling to represent indigent clients.
State Public Defender Eric Fredericksen is asking lawmakers for $17 million to add 18 new lawyers to his staff next fiscal year and to increase wages. Fredericksen’s office already has 29 vacancies.
“We just need this additional bump to adjust salaries throughout the state, make sure we have contractors in our rural counties and really make the entire system uniform,” he said.
Another $5.4 million, if approved, would be used to contract with attorneys in rural counties during the current fiscal year that ends June 30.
Legislators on the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee Tuesday morning asked Fredericksen if it’s feasible to fill those vacancies within the next five months, or if the cash would be used for other purposes.
“Our goal is not to hide anything at all. Our goal is to spend it,” said Fredericksen. “We need attorneys that are in the counties handling these cases – in the rural counties.”
His request comes as the ACLU of Idaho is appealing a longstanding case that spurred the move from a county-based public defense system to one run by the state.
The ACLU’s lawsuit alleges since Fredericksen’s office came online in October, hundreds, if not thousands, of indigent defendants have languished in jail and in court without representation.
Legislators will vote on his budget proposal later this year.
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