Fresno County Public Defender’s Office to boost ranks after legal settlement with ACLU
The Fresno County Public Defenders Office will be adding much-needed lawyers to its ranks as part of a legal settlement between the county and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The ACLU sued the state and Fresno County in 2015, alleging the Public Defender’s Office was woefully understaffed and was failing to provide adequate legal representation for those who couldn’t afford a lawyer.
In September 2013, more than 80 percent of the attorneys working in the Fresno County Public Defender’s Office signed a letter protesting their working conditions. The attorneys alleged they had so little time with their clients that they didn’t have time to prepare an adequate defense.
“The important part of this settlement is that it ensures the Public Defender’s Office is sufficiently funded so it can provide Constitutionally adequate representation,” said Kathleen Guneratne, senior staff attorney for the ACLU Foundation of Northern California.
As part of the legal settlement, Fresno County agrees, at a minimum, to maintain the office’s budget of $23.2 million this year. That’s an increase of $9.5 million from fiscal year 2014-15, according to county officials. Since that time, the Public Defender’s Office has also added 35 new attorneys to its staff of 162 employees. It has around 100 lawyers.
For fiscal year 2020-21, the budget will rise to $23.5 million and be maintained at a minimum of $24 million over the next two years.
Additionally, the county will provide quarterly and semi-annual status reports to ACLU attorneys over a four-year period. The county will also have to pay $400,000 in legal fees to the plaintiffs.
“We’ve been through some very challenging times with budget cuts in the past, but our office has always been committed to providing vigorous defense to our clients,” said Elizabeth Diaz, Fresno County Public Defender. “I am pleased that now we can put the distraction of this lawsuit behind us and continue providing our clients excellent legal representation.”
Guneratne said the ACLU also settled with the state to bolster its Office of the State Public Defender.
Under the settlement, Gov. Gavin Newsom has included $4 million dollars in his annual proposed budget for 2020-21 and $3.5 million annually thereafter to expand the mission of the Office of the State Public Defender (OSPD), that currently handles only death penalty appeals.
This represents an increase of approximately 28 percent over the agency’s current budget with the goal of promoting more effective representation statewide.
This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 4:28 PM.
