skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Divided Supreme Court allows Trump administration to begin enforcing ban on transgender service members; AZ hospitals could be required to ask patients about legal status; Taxing the wealthy to pay for Trump priorities wouldn't slow economic growth; and overdraft fees are here to stay, costing Texans thousands of dollars a year.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Taxing millionaires could fund safety net programs, climate rollbacks raise national security concerns, India makes cross-border strikes in Kashmir, the Supreme Court backs transgender military ban, and government actions conflict with Indigenous land protections.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural students who face hurdles going to college are getting noticed, Native Alaskans may want to live off the land but obstacles like climate change loom large, and the Cherokee language is being preserved by kids in North Carolina.

Audit: Allegheny County public defenders overwhelmed with caseloads

play audio
Play

Thursday, March 20, 2025   

An audit by Allegheny County reveals most public defenders face excessive caseloads and a lack of resources, putting clients at a disadvantage.

It showed 36 of 42 trial attorneys carry caseloads above the national average.

Robert Perkins, attorney for the Allegheny Lawyers Initiative for Justice, said the state has a history of underfunding public defenders, allowing only $100,000 per county annually. But he added it is the first time the county controller's office has reviewed public defense, focusing on areas of improvement in a neglected system.

"On average, your typical public defender, trial lawyer has two or three times as many cases as they should," Perkins pointed out. "You can be the best lawyer in the world. If you have triple the caseload that you should per national standards, then you can't do a good job for every client. You end up having to pick and choose."

Perkins noted while the American Bar Association outlines 10 key principles for an effective public defense system, the recent audit only examined one for both the Public Defender and court-appointed counsel systems. He argued a deeper review would have shown both fall short of most bar association standards. The study also found the court-run indigent defense system violates standards.

Sarah Linder Marx, senior deputy of public outreach and staff development for the Allegheny County Office of the Public Defender, said she is concerned the audit implied clients must meet requirements beyond those outlined in the Public Defender Act to qualify for a public defender attorney. Specifically, she emphasized the audit suggested stricter income verification measures.

Under the Public Defender Act, individuals qualify based on income eligibility and sign an affidavit confirming their income falls below the poverty line percentage indicating indigence.

"In practice, we would be asking people who are already extremely vulnerable to get us documentation that may not even exist for them," Linder Marx stressed. "We don't have software or access to government documents like other government agencies do to verify income like that."

Linder Marx's office also recommended implementing new case management software would greatly improve the ability to manage workloads and provide opportunities for analysis. The current case management software is dated and inadequate, often creating more work.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
As of 2023, half of likely undocumented immigrant adults and one in five lawfully present immigrant adults reported being uninsured, compared with less than one in 10 naturalized citizens and U.S.-born citizen adults, according to KFF. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

State lawmakers in Arizona are considering legislation to mandate hospitals to ask patients whether they are in the country legally. Rep. John …


Social Issues

play sound

As the national debate intensifies over cuts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance benefits and school meal funding, Missouri food system leaders are …

Social Issues

play sound

For now, Minnesota officials say panic has eased over federal funding for a program helping low-income households with their energy bills but there …


Illinois residents pay the second-highest gasoline taxes in the country, according to WalletHub. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

High taxes and a weak economy are the top concerns of Illinois residents according to a new poll, with nearly half of those surveyed saying they …

play sound

Air pollution in Washington is getting worse, according to a new report citing transportation emissions as the primary culprit. Eight of the 12 …

Overdraft fees originated during a time when consumers wrote and cashed checks more frequently so the checks would clear instead of bouncing. The amount of the fees has increased over time. (JJ Gouin/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Congress has overturned legislation which would have limited bank overdraft fees before the measure could go into effect. The Consumer Financial …

Social Issues

play sound

Reports of the Trump administration considering taxing wealthy Americans to pay for mass deportations and other priorities come on the heels of a new …

Social Issues

play sound

Protections for Indigenous rock art in Wyoming are in limbo after state lawmakers and the Trump administration took potentially conflicting actions re…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021