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1 Carol J. DeFrances & Marika F. X. Litras, Indigent Defense Services in Large Countries, 1999 1 (2000)

handle is hein.agopinions/idslc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs National Survey of Indigent Defense Systems, 1999 Novembe 2000,CJ 84932 Indigent Defense Services in Large Counties, 1999 By Carol J. DeFrances, Ph.D. Marika F. X. Litras, Ph.D. BJS Statisticians Court-appointed legal representation for indigent criminal defendants plays a critical role in the Nation's criminal justice system. In 1999 an estimated $1.2 billion was spent by indigent crimi- nal defense programs that primarily handled felony cases at the trial level in the 100 most populous counties. These programs received approxi- mately 4.2 million cases. The Bureau of Justice Statistics, with funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, conducted the National Survey of Indigent Defense Systems (NSIDS) in 1999-2000. The survey represents the first systematic study of indigent criminal defense services since the 1980's.1 In the 50 counties with comparable data, 1982 expenditures totaled about $464 million when adjusted for inflation. In 1999 these same 50 counties spent approximately $877 million on indigent criminal defense services, an increase of 47% from 1982. This report details the methods by which indigent criminal defense is delivered in the Nation's 100 most populous counties. It also compares 'National Criminal Defense Systems Study, BJS, September 1986, NCJ 94702, and Criminal Defense for the Poor, 1986, BJS Bulle- tin, September 1988, NCJ 112919. Operating expenditures and cases handled by indigent criminal defense programs in the Nation's 100 most populous counties, 1999 Expenditures and Type of indigent defense service Public Assigned cases (in thousands) Total defendera counsel' Contract Number of counties 100 90 89 42 Total expenditures $1,205,136 $880,920 $247,204 $70,012 Median per county 6,941 5,689 2,450 517 Total cases 4,174 3,413 618 143 Median per county 24 20 4 2 Number of programs 314 123 126 65 'Expenditure and caseload data include the contract public defender programs in Multno- mah County, OR. Caseload data not included for the 4 large counties in M aryland. 'Expenditure and caseload data were not available for assigned counsel programs in 19 counties. * An estimated $1.2 billion was spent on indigent criminal defense in the Nation's 100 most populous counties during 1999, with about 73% spent by public defender programs, 21% by assigned counsel programs, and about 6% on awarded contracts. * Indigent criminal defense expendi- tures in the largest 100 counties comprised 3% of all local criminal justice expenditures and 16% of judicial expenditures in these counties. - County governments provided 60% and State governments 25% of total funding used by indigent criminal defense service providers. * Indigent criminal defense providers in the 100 most populous counties received an estimated 4.2 million cases in 1999. - Public defenders handled about 82% of these 4.2 million cases, assigned counsel attorneys 15%, and contract attorneys about 3%. . Over 12,700 individuals were employed by public defender programs in the largest 100 counties in 1999. Half of the 123 public defender programs had 33 or more assistant public defenders. . In 1999, over 30,700 attorneys received appointments through assigned counsel programs to repre- sent indigent defendants. Half of the 126 assigned counsel programs had 109 or more appointments. . Over 1,000 contracts for indigent defense services were administered in the top 100 counties during 1999.

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