The reason for Madera County’s inherently unjust public defense system | Opinion

“You’re supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, but in Madera, you’re guilty until proven innocent.” That’s what Rudy Castillo said at a recent community forum on the state of public defense in Madera County.

Castillo spent decades behind bars due — in significant part — to the subpar representation he believes he received under Madera’s flat fee contract system. Unlike traditional public defender offices, flat fee contracts pay private attorneys to handle all the county’s criminal cases. Rather than compensating attorneys for the time they’ve put into an individual case, flat fee contracts pay attorneys a single fixed fee regardless of how much work they’ve put into a case.

For example, an attorney may put 20 hours into a case, but will get paid the same as if they worked only two hours.

The flat fee pay structure forces attorneys to prioritize profits over quality representation. Critical advocacy such as investigations, filing of motions and consistent client communication often fall to the wayside, as they necessitate time and resources that eat into the bottom line.

Unsurprisingly, the result of this system is obvious: Flat fee systems for public defense lead to higher conviction rates and lengthier sentences.

Castillo and countless other Madera residents have suffered the dire consequences of flat fee systems. Moreover, in an age where law enforcement officers flagrantly abuse their authority, subpar flat fee models weaken community safety.

That’s why advocates and residents recently gathered in Madera to demand a better public defense system. In the short term, these demands centered around greater accountability, smaller caseloads and increased funding to hire investigators. In the long term, these demands centered around building a well-funded, county-run public defender office, one without the inherent financial conflicts permeating flat fee models.

Madera’s caseloads are more than double the recommended standards for public defenders. Decreasing these caseload numbers would necessitate hiring additional attorneys, which would weaken the profit margins of Madera’s flat fee contractor. This cost-conscious approach extends to investigations, arguably the most critical aspect of any criminal case.

Despite the fact that half of California’s wrongful conviction claims stem from defense attorney’s failure to investigate a case, Madera’s contractor reportedly employ only two investigators to handle nearly 6,000 cases.

These privatized flat-fee systems have been shown to drive incarceration rates higher. The top five counties in California for incarceration all employ flat fee models. In a state where incarceration rates are on the decline, 70% of flat fee counties are seeing a rise in incarceration.

Madera has an incarceration rate that is nearly double the statewide average. The county exacerbates this embarrassing statistic by spending almost 130% more on prosecution than indigent public defense, substantially more than the statewide disparity of 77%.

This failed approach to public defense is penny-wise but pound foolish. Over and over, studies have shown that modest investments in public defense systems can save states and counties millions of dollars. This is one reason why many states — such as Washington, Idaho, Michigan, Utah and Nevada have outlawed these types of contracts.

Every community in California deserves a quality public defender. A client-centered, properly funded public defender office can literally save lives and promote justice.

Linette Lomeli is the executive director of the Madera Coalition for Community Justice.