California’s long-criticized system for representing poor defendants is facing new pressure for reform from an independent commission made up of state lawmakers, public defenders, legal scholars and criminal justice advocates.
The California Independent Commission on Public Defense is seeking to push the state to provide funding and set enforceable standards for county public defense systems. California is one of only two states that does not contribute money for basic public defense services, leaving counties to shoulder the responsibility.
The commission includes three Assembly members and two state senators, including Sen. Jesse Arreguín and Assemblymember Nick Schultz, who chair the Senate and Assembly public safety committees. Schultz, a Burbank Democrat and former prosecutor, has previously carried legislation aimed at improving public defense.
“We have discussed the problem of our public defense system for years,” Schultz said, adding that the commission’s work is intended to move beyond debate and toward a practical plan for building the kind of defense system Californians are entitled to under the Constitution.
Commission members plan to develop a five-year proposal for phasing in state funding. They also intend to recommend minimum standards that could include limits on attorney caseloads and guaranteed access to defense investigators.
The effort follows reporting by CalMatters that found defendants in California are often convicted without any defense investigation into the allegations against them. In many counties, defense teams lack investigators who can interview witnesses, examine police reports, visit crime scenes or collect surveillance footage. CalMatters also found that in some rural counties, defense attorneys carry caseloads far above even the loosest professional standards, making them less likely to file motions challenging prosecution evidence or take cases to trial.
Despite those findings, the state has not taken broad action. A proposal to create an official state commission was dropped, prompting two advocacy organizations — the Wren Collective and UC Berkeley’s Criminal Law and Justice Center — to establish an independent panel. Similar commissions in other states have often been created by governors and have helped drive major public defense reforms.
Chesa Boudin, founding director of the Berkeley center and a former San Francisco district attorney, said the issue has not been treated as a top priority in Sacramento, particularly amid state budget problems. He said there is also a disconnect between expert views of the system’s shortcomings and California’s public image as a national leader on progressive policy.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the right to counsel in state criminal cases, California has assigned counties the job of providing attorneys for people who cannot afford them. Some counties operate public defender offices, while others rely on private attorneys or firms paid flat fees to handle indigent defense cases, regardless of workload or time spent on each client.
Eve Brensike Primus, a University of Michigan law professor and the commission’s only member from outside California, said the quality of representation varies widely across the state. Some offices provide strong defense services, she said, while flat-fee contract systems in other places have been shown to deliver poor results.
Primus was invited to join the commission because of her research on indigent defense systems. She pointed to Michigan, where a legislatively created indigent defense commission in 2013 led to major changes and a significant increase in state funding.
In California, Primus said, the commission’s findings could help motivate lawmakers to fund and improve public defense. They also could provide support for litigation aimed at forcing action if elected officials do not respond.
The commission is expected to hold its first public, in-person meeting in Berkeley in October. Additional meetings are planned over the following year in Los Angeles, the Central Valley and Northern California.
Between quarterly meetings, members will work in subcommittees on a fiscal plan for the state, proposed legislation and baseline standards for county public defender systems. Those standards may address how offices are organized, how attorneys are paid, whether defense teams have access to experts and how counties report on their work.
Any reforms recommended by the commission would still require approval from the Legislature.
Original source: CalMatters
