Overloaded lawyers lack the time to conduct investigations, review discovery materials, perform legal research and file motions, communicate with clients, and prepare for court. Outdated caseload standards which failed to consider the unique needs of varying case types or the complexities of modern criminal practice must be replaced. Public defense providers must be given the means to properly track case data and case time. Public defense systems must be provided adequate resources and personnel, including attorneys and support staff, to provide proper representation. And court systems must allow public defenders to refuse cases when workloads get too great.
Public defense attorneys and public defense providers have the ethical responsibility to challenge caseloads when they become excessive and prevent the attorney from fulfilling their ethical obligations to their clients.{1}1 Eight Guidelines of Public Defense Related to Excessive Workloads.(ABA 2009).
NACDL stands ready to help ensure both public defenders and assigned counsel have proper workload controls and the resources needed to perform their constitutional duties on behalf of their clients and their community.
NACDL Reports on Excessive Caseloads
Meaningful workload studies are one way a system can examine current practices and develop data-driven standards. In 2017, NACDL and the ABA examined the Rhode Island's public defender system. Utilizing the Delphi Method, the study concluded the RIPD's current caseload required 136 attorneys; at the time they had 49.
Read more in: The Rhode Island Project
NACDL reports on how the explosive growth of misdemeanor cases has placed a staggering burden on America's courts. Defenders across the country are forced to carry caseloads that leave too little time for clients to be properly represented. As a result, constitutional obligations are unmet and taxpayer money is wasted. Read more in Minor Crimes, Massive Waste (2009).
More on misdemeanors can be found in: NACDL's Report
Three Minute Justice: Haste and Waste in Florida's Misdemeanor Courts
Additional resources on public defense caseloads
- PBS News Hour Broken Justice, Episode 1: Triage, Nov. 5, 2019
- Presentation on Defender Workloads by Geoff Burkhart
- ABA Delphi Method Workoad Studies in Colorado, Louisiana, and Missouri.
- ABA Ethics Opinion 06-411: When Excessive Caseloads Interfere with Competent and Diligent Representation (May 2006)
- Keeping Defender Workloads Manageable, Bureau of Justice Assistance (2001)
- Securing Reasonable Caseloads: Ethics and Law in Public Defenses, Norman Leftstein (ABA 2011)
