An informant brings word that the Dallas Public Defender Office may soon lose two more spots because county commissioners are requiring courts to assign felony PD lawyers 40 felony cases each month. Judge Carter Thompson and Judge Susan Hawk are each cutting a felony trial PD effective in August. See the related agenda items 10(a) & (b) (pdf, pp. 174-179)
A report commissioned by the county from the Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense said that caseloads recently required in Dallas County were three or more times higher than “nationally recommended standards” and substantially higher than caseloads at other Texas public defenders. TFID warned earlier this month that maintaining PD caseload levels that high "can pose a serious threat to the indigent’s right to competent counsel."
There's also some good news for lawyers at the Dallas PD: The appellate division, I'm told, will survive in the county budget at least another year, though with a quarterly review of their statistics and workload expectations that may still give the agency trouble down the line.
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The political hack commissioners made their intent to cut two felony public defender positions public July 29. Here is the link to this week’s commissioner’s court agenda.
http://www.dallascounty.org/department/comcrt/agenda/files/2008Jul29b.pdf
See pages 174-179.
So what’s up with Lynn Richardson? Is she the new chief? The Dallas Morning News says yes.
I thought she was just made interim, but the DMN sure makes it look like they just up and gave it to her. Of course, reporters often miss the subtleties of things.
I would think they'd have to post the position just like any other job in the county. But then, when have the details of county policy ever bothered JWP and his surly band of bobbleheads...especially when the city's daily paper continually gives him a pass for the price of a ready quote.
Looks like the grim reaper will be sharpening up her scythe and taking her dance of death to some poor souls shortly.
Wonder if they check who's blogging from the courthouse after 4:30?
So what happens to the PD's who were in those spots? Do they continue at the same pay grade in another court? What if there are no other spots available? Do they get demoted and returned to misdemeanor? Hopefully there will a place for them and not another two to add to the body count.
I thought there was a meeting where Richardson said her top priority was preserving the jobs of all the PD's. I guess she meant that preserving "her" job was her top priority.
Subtext is everything...
The CDC #5 position is deleted as of Tuesday, Aug. 5. The 291st position goes away on Friday, Aug. 8...if I read that correctly.
Hope they're all on good terms with JWP & LPR. Maybe someone can move into another court.
Make that three positions. Judge Robert Francis has also deleted one position in his court, following the firing of one of his PDs Tom Grett. And, Family Court Judge Lynn Cherry has discontinued the use of PDs in her court following the firing of her husband, PD Mike Lemon, and has reassigned over 100 cases previously assigned to him to private lawyers.
The appellate division has been shown to be cost effective and proven to provide quality representation to defendants on appeal.
So, tell me again why Brad Lollar was fired?
7:06--Did you mean "previously assigned to the PD's office"? Surely he wouldn't have been assigned to cases out of his wife's court.
Correct.
And I wish I could answer that last question about why Brad Lollar was fired. Ultimately, I believe Brad fell victim to the reasonable, but apparently mistaken, belief that he was in charge of the office. We now know it's a collection of individuals who give not a damn about standards and quality, but only about their own political survival who are running the show. Meanwhile, employees county-wide are being sent to the unemployment line because the commissioners don't have the stones to take any responsibility themselves for the budget shortfall.
Maybe the DMN should do a story on how County Administration and the Budget and Evaluation departments are cutting their budgets?
Grits - look for more spots to go as well. The commissioners set up a brilliant (but disgraceful) backhanded way to pare down the PDs office. You require PDs to get 40 new cases each month, even though that's an unreasonable amount uniformly considered in the legal community to be 3 to 4 times an acceptable level. When PDs slog on without disposing enough cases to keep their heads above water, their dockets back up. More and more the courts feel pressure to move the dockets - especially in an election year. So eventually they have to give the PD less cases so the docket can get cleared up. At that point, the PD doesn't meet the magic number so the PD's neck meets the county's axe. And when the story hits the papers (if it does at all) the county will blame the lazy PD for not moving enough cases.
And the best part is sometime in the future, when they've decimated the PDs office - when all the good trial attorneys have left in disgust and only people willing to do the county's bidding at the expense of their clients' interest are left - they'll accuse the office of being a giant plea machine, blind to and uncaring of their clients' cases.
I'm telling you, it's brilliant. Too bad it's leveled directly at me.
Why wouldn't having so many cases result in nearly automatic appeals for ineffective counsel?
Great point 8/2 11:45...it almost certainly will. Knowing the CCA and even the Supreme Court's predilection towards labeling almost anything with a heartbeat effective assistance of counsel, though, nothing will come of it but more appeals.
Don't forget the elimination of the investigator's spot that came open when one retired/fired. There are now only 7 investigators to serve the entire office of about 35 felony and 20 misd attys. Boy, that makes for some deep investigations.
Is that investigator slot just unfilled due to the hiring "freeze" or did it get eliminated? If it was, whose genius idea was that?
8/2 10:02--Yeah, leveled at you and several dozen others. I don't dispute it could play out that way, but I think you credit the county administration with way too much planning ability. I do think it's more the law of unintended consequences at work.
On second thought, as I reread your comment, maybe it's a bit of both.
To 7/31 4:39: I think the DMN just screwed it up by not being clear. The 7/22 agenda item was to sign an order making her acting chief.
Making her acting chief and giving her a raise to do it. Sound like we still have a budget deficit?
I think it's traditional that the acting chief gets a temporary raise; otherwise, who'd volunteer to do it.
On the other hand, she's already grossly overpaid as First Assistant so why give her even more money? One could argue the sheer joy of getting to fire all those pesky employees should be compensation enough for her.
Anyone know what's happening to the lawyers in those felony positions that are being cut?
One was moved to another court to fill the position of a woman who is retiring. The other went to the mental health division to take the place of another regime casualty
This coming Tuesday on the county briefing agenda (pages 266-275):
Judge Francis is cutting back to one PD due to the 40 new cases/month quota. Judge Snipes is requesting a fourth PD. No net loss of positions.
Anyone know if they've posted the position for Chief Public Defender on the county job site? The non-county employee portion of the site is currently down.
According to the Dallas Morning News, Lynn Richardson has already been given the nod. I thought they had to post it before filling it.
I thought she was just officially made interim chief. Yeah, you'd think they'd have to post it like any other position otherwise. Has any announcement been made within the PD's office or are they as confused as the rest of us?
From the PDs-Are Not-Alone-In-Job-Cuts Department it looks like the DA's office could lose some jobs. I don't know if this is just hype or how it will eventually play out, but here are some links:
http://www.krld.com/pages/2697198.php?contentType=4&contentId=2507050
http://cityhallblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/08/dallas-das-office-to-appeal-to.html
http://www.dallasblog.com/200808081003322/dallas-blog/update-d.a.-watkins-vs.-county-commissioner-john-wiley-price.html
The comments on the Dallas Blog piece make for some entertaining reading.
This article linked below from today's DMN finally explains how the "shortfall" came about and how it's not a deficit at all. Note the last two paragraphs. Also, looks like all the prosecutors are going to get to keep their jobs since Craig Watkins finally came up with a "plan" to meet his 5%. Once again, JWP is the only source for quotes coming out of the commissioners court. I noticed that as well on the news last night.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/dallas/stories/081308dnmetcountybudget.3d4289ba.html
So the PD's offic has posted a position for an appellate specialist. Someone leave or are they actually expanding the appellate section?
Actually, one of the appellate lawyers did take a similar position with the DA's appellate section. Who could blame him, considering what's happened?
According to Wiley Price, the PD’s office is a “wayward home for reject lawyers.” If a PD goes to work for the DA, does this mean that the DA’s office is also a….?
Perish the thought! Only the noblest and purest of heart get to work for the Dallas County DA's Office! They are all that stands between us and total anarchy! No doubt getting hired by the DA is a mystical rebirth that removes all taint of having worked for the House of Rejects or the General Dollar Store of Indigent Defense.
If JWP could get some political traction out of trashing prosecutors, I'm sure he would. Funny, he can't push the DA's Office around quite the way he can the PD's Office. But then, he doesn't run the DA's Office.
I heard 3 asst. PDs quit this week. Anybody know the story on this?
Three Asst PD's at Dallas County Public Defender's have turned in their resignation. Look for a fourth next week.
I hope these were voluntary resignations and wish them the best of luck. The PDs office doesn't seem like a very fun place to work these days.
I understand they were voluntary resignations. However, I think they resigned because of the new restrictions and unreasonable expectations that have been placed on the PD's. I agree that the office probably is not a fun place to work these days.
The fourth resignation from the Dallas PD's felony roster in two weeks time was submitted this morning.
I'm beginning to think Anonymous 8/2 10:02 am was right after all.
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