By: Steve Grumm

Happy Friday the 13th, dear readers.  This week’s horrific development was the Hostess bankruptcy – the company’s second in recent years.  The very idea of Ding Dongs and Suzy Q’s – to say nothing of Twinkies – succumbing to capitalism’s merciless machinations is heartbreaking.  If government can subsidize public transportation, the arts, and other “important” societal goods, government can damn-well subsidize Ho-Ho’s.  Si tu puedes, Obama. 

In light of it being Friday the 13th and as a lamentation on the Hostess news, I offer this sonic gem by punk rock legends Social Distortion.  Social D is the second-best thing to come out of Orange County, California – the best thing being whatever road gets you out of Orange County the fastest.   

I didn’t really digress up there so much as I never got on topic.  Sorry.  Here’s this week’s public interest news in summary:

• Montana’s Office of the Public Defender facing criticism and may be short on resources at it tries to replace its retiring chief;     
• NOLA’s defender says they don’t have money to compensate outside counsel – judge not happy;
• Dayton’s pro bono clearinghouse feels the caseload strain;
• A report critical of indigent defense funding in PA is released; one county defender stops taking some cases;
• Brevard County, FL kicks $250,000+ to the local legal services program;
• A Charleston Gazette editorial looks at Legal Aid of West Virginia’s funding woes;
• a newly-created federal defender’s office, and a little bit of attorney hiring, in Northern Alabama 

The summaries:

• 1.12.11 – the Missoula Independent reports that the ACLU of Montana has kept up its criticism of the state’s Office of the Public Defender as, this month, OPD tries to settle on replacing its retiring chief.  One of OPD’s main problems seems to be a shortage of resources to build an effective program infrastructure.

• 1.10.12 – several days ago the New Orleans Public Defender announced that, due to fiscal woes, his office would not be able to pay outside counsel to handle cases that the PD couldn’t.  This has of course caused a stir within the criminal defense bar and the court system. From the Times-Picayune:  “The new austerity plan at the Orleans Parish public defender’s office has started to make waves, including one that lapped into a courtroom Tuesday on the eve of a death penalty trial. The plan, to cut off all payments to private lawyers hired by the office, drew a biting response from Criminal District Judge Lynda Van Davis, who upbraided Derwyn Bunton, the chief public defender.”

• 1.9.12 – the Dayton Business Journal looks at how the Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyers Project is contending with high-volume case referrals.  As is the story everywhere else, while financial resources are scarce, the legal services community is overwhelmed with client demand.

• 1.8.12 – in PA, a joint legislative committee issued a damning report last month about the state of indigent defense in the Keystone State.  Read “A Constitutional Default: Services to Indigent Criminal Defendants in Pennsylvania.”  Some related items:
  • the Luzerne County (PA) public defender’s refusal to take on some new cases makes his office one of several around the country which has put a foot down, saying they don’t have the resources to do their constitutional duties.  The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader looks at what’s going on across the U.S., and notes that prosecutors are facing similar dilemmas.
  • And here’s a Times Leader editorial highlighting the local defender’s caseload overload, and calling on county residents to contact local officials.)

• 1.7.12 – in Florida, Brevard County Legal Aid got some good funding news: “The county will pay $256,500 to provide low-income residents free legal services this year, but Brevard County commissioners want the majority of those services to benefit victims of domestic violence and children.”  Like a lot of providers, Legal Aid is seeing many more clients than it can help.  Legal Aid’s currently turning away 8 of every 10 who otherwise qualify for services, according to Florida Today.

• 1.5.12 – a Charleston Gazette editorial argues that with Legal Aid of West Virginia facing $650,000 in funding cuts ($500,000 of that being a cut in LSC funding), the state legislature and those in the justice system must find additional funding.

• 1.5.12 – the  Birmingham News reports that a new federal defender’s office is opening in the Northern District of Alabama, which had been “one of only four federal…districts, out of 94 nationwide, that didn’t have some form of public defender office…”  Federal Public Defender Kevin Butler, is looking to hire about six assistant defenders, along with investigators and support staff. “Butler said he will focus on hiring attorneys experienced in federal criminal defense work. But he said there will be room for hiring younger attorneys ‘who have shown a commitment to equal protection under the law’.”