Local attorneys: We don't need public defender office

 For the second time in three years, Alamance County attorneys met to discuss whether the county needs a public defender office to represent defendants who cannot afford a lawyer.

And for the second time, the consensus seems to be the same.

 ""I don't think we need it," said attorney Todd Smith after he and several of his fellow attorneys shared their concerns during a 2-hour information session Thursday afternoon. "The problems (we have) can be addressed without bringing additional cost and additional bureaucracy to the county."

The main problem voiced by judicial officials during the meeting was not having enough attorneys volunteer to represent indigent defendants charged with serious felonies (class A through G). These felonies include crimes such as rape, robbery, trafficking and manslaughter.

Senior Resident Superior Court Judge J.B. Allen, who is mainly responsible for bringing the issue to the forefront, said that indigent representation "became a concern" for him recently when only two attorneys had volunteered to be on the indigent list for these cases.

Allen said that over the years he has begged attorneys to get on the indigent list. And though that typically has worked, it's only been a temporary fix since attorneys don't stay on the list for long stretches of time.

And though attorneys have since been added to the list, Allen said the question still remains as to which system is better for the county. "I want the best representation for these folks ... possible," he said, adding that he also wants to make sure that "the taxpayers' dollars" are spent wisely.

Malcolm Hunter, executive director of the N.C. Indigent Defense Services, who attended the meeting and listened to the attorneys' concerns, said his office is in the "comment period" of determining whether a public defender office is the best choice for Alamance County.

"I don't really have an opinion on how well what you have going on is working," he told the more than 40 attorneys who gathered to hear what he had to say. But, he added, based on past experiences, "Once all the shouting is over, most people feel like (a public defender office) is an improvement" from the court-appointed system.

A public defender office has its own attorneys and staff, just as the district attorney's office does. Under that model, court-appointed attorneys are only used for cases in which there is a conflict of interest, such as multiple defendants facing charges out of the same crime.

 DISTRICT ATTORNEY Rob Johnson was not shy about sharing his opinion prior to the meeting. He said that the state of the current court-appointed system "is a very inefficient, very ineffective and unbusinesslike way of doing business."

Though indigent cases account for only 40 percent of the total number of cases handled in Alamance County each year, Johnson said that having two or three attorneys on the list for serious felonies results in a "hopeless" clog of the system.

He said there's been more than one occasion when a case has been called in court and the court-appointed attorneys are either not available or are unprepared for trial, which leaves jurors "twirling their thumbs" and wastes the taxpayers' dollars and everybody's time.

"For the taxpayers, for the citizens of Alamance County, and for those individuals who are accused of a crime and in need of indigent counsel being appointed, I believe that a public defender office will serve Alamance County better than (it) is being served now with the court-appointed" system, Johnson said.

During the meeting, Johnson was not so openly in favor of a public defender office, though he did point out that having so few attorneys on the indigent list is not effective and is creating clogs not only in the court system but at the jail as well.

Several attorneys said limited jail access is a big obstacle and one of the main reasons why many don't put their names on the indigent list. They also said it is a problem likely to remain the same with or without a public defender office.

Attorney Alex Dawson said that since the jail stopped allowing attorneys to visit their clients during their lunch breaks, it's become harder to move cases through the docket. Though Hunter recognized jail access as a problem, he said that it's an issue attorneys need to talk with the sheriff's department about.

 WHILE MOST ATTORNEYS seemed skeptical of the idea of having a public defender office, some said that maybe the solution is somewhere in the middle.

District Court Judge Tom Lambeth suggested that the local bar develop a system that institutionalizes the court-appointed list to make sure that there is always an acceptable list of attorneys on it.

Attorney Robert Martin suggested that IDS contract with private attorneys to work exclusively as court-appointed attorneys for serious felonies. That way, he said, attorneys could focus on those cases only.

Hunter said his office had done contracting of this kind in the past but never for serious felonies. But, he said they are open to consider that possibility if it comes down to it. He said that the main issue his office will consider when deciding what system is best for Alamance County is not financial gain but if the quality of representation is at the level where it should be.

If IDS decides to proceed with a public defender office, Hunter said, the transition would be gradual. "It's not going to happen in two months; it's not going to happen in six months but probably within a year if it happens at all," he said.

If the office is approved, the county would be responsible by law for providing a space for the office. It would also be responsible for the expenses associated with running the office, salaries excluded.

Johnson said the county is already footing the bill for housing people charged with serious crimes who are awaiting trial, a cost that is bound to go down if a public defender office is established.

 "The bottom line is, there is not such a thing as a free criminal justice system," Johnson said. "I just don't think that Alamance County can continue to function in an environment where this week you may have seven lawyers available for appointment and in six months you may have three and in eight moths you may have 10."