Lancaster County
Public Defender
Public Defender
lancaster.ne.gov
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Table of Contents
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Sixth Amendment Constitution of the United States
The 1997 Annual Report of the
Dennis R. Keefe, Public Defender |
The past year has brought many changes and improvements to the Office of the Public Defender. In October of 1997, the juvenile division moved offices to Trabert Hall where the Separate Juvenile Court of Lancaster County is being located during the restoration of the Hall of Justice. By the end of 1997, we were ready to vacate the Public Defender's Office on the 4th floor of the old County City Building, as well as our annex on the third floor, and move into the new offices designated in the new County City Building on the second floor. For the first time in many years, the Public Defender's Office has adequate space to house all of the attorneys and support staff.
Technological improvements continued during 1997. The second phase of an upgrade of the Public Defender's microcomputers to pentiums with Windows 95 and Windows versions of WordPerfect continued. In addition, the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy provided the office with a new case management litigation support software - Trial Scout. The Public Defender's Office was in the process of testing this software on several of the major cases pending in the office.
Because of the number of major cases pending in the office, the workload factor far exceeded maximum allowable during most of 1997. The County Board approved the addition of a felony attorney, the first addition to the felony staff in 10 years. In addition, a Juvenile Division paralegal and a juvenile court attorney were hired in an attempt by the Public Defender's Office to assist the County Board in saving money on private attorney expenses in the Separate Juvenile Court.
Key issues that we are currently facing going into the FY99 include the passage of L.B. 1041, a bill which brings Nebraska into compliance with the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, wherein Congress mandated that the states comply with certain provisions of that Act in order to continue receiving federal funds. Essentially, L.B. 1041 will increase the number of termination of parental right proceedings in the Separate Juvenile Court of Lancaster County. This will have an impact across the system including the ability of the Public Defender's Office to respond.
The Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy has continued to provide representation in some of the major cases where the Public Defender's Office has declared a conflict of interest. This eliminates the need to appoint private attorneys at $65 per hour. This has had the effect of saving Lancaster County property tax dollars to the extent of $91,655.
With all of the challenges facing us, we will continue our service to the community through our dedicated and qualified staff, and continued efficiency in our operation. The major challenges for the coming year will be to ensure quality representation for all parties in the Separate Juvenile Court of Lancaster County in the most efficient way possible. Also, we will meet the challenge to provide the necessary level of quality of services in our major cases which will be carried over into the new fiscal year.
Dennis R. Keefe
The workload of the Lancaster County Public Defender's Office increased
significantly in several categories over the past year. The highest
percentage change in opened cases occurred in the categories of:
Cases Opened in 1997
| Case type | Pending Start | Opened 1997 | Closed 1997 | Pending End 1997 | % Change from 1996 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Felony1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 150% |
| All Felonies1 | 282 | 846 | 839 | 308 | 9% |
| Juveniles1 | 235 | 1300 | 1216 | 325 | 0% |
| Misdemeanors1 | 390 | 2657 | 2691 | 562 | 4% |
| Mental1 | 9 | 324 | 344 | 1 | 20% |
| Miscellaneous2 | 23 | 118 | 118 | 28 | 3% |
| District Court Appeals | 4 | 16 | 15 | 5 | 14% |
| Supreme Court Appeals | 24 | 57 | 42 | 39 | 78% |
| Totals | 967 | 5323 | 5265 | 1274 | 13% |
| 1excludes cases that were made inactive (bench warrant issued) or cases that were reacted (arrested on bench warrant) | |||||
| 2 includes felony revocation of probation (52 cases), habeas corpus (3 cases), fugitive from justice (53 cases), insanity verdict reviews (4 cases), post conviction (3 cases) declaratory judgment (2 cases), civil contempt (1 case). | |||||
Distribution of Attorney time by Case Type
| Case Type | % of Attorney Time / 1997 | % of Closed Cases / 1997 |
|---|---|---|
| All Felonies (including capital felonies) | 43% | 16% |
| Juveniles | 23% | 23% |
| Misdemeanors | 24% | 51% |
| Mental | 3% | 7% |
| Miscellaneous | 2% | 2% |
| Appeals | 3% | 1% |
The increased complexity of felony cases requires more attorney time, thus the reason for a higher percentage of time being spent on a lower percentage of the entire case volume. The reverse is true of misdemeanors where less attorney time is required, even though they comprise 51% of the entire caseload for the Public Defender Office.
| FELONY Cases |
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In 1997, the State Court Administrators Office reported 1,205 felony cases filed in the Lancaster County Court. Seventy percent of those cases (846) initially required appointment of counsel.
Felony Jury Trials in Lancaster County District Court
Also in 1997, there was a total of 31 felony jury trials in the District Court of Lancaster County. Of that number, the Public Defender represented clients in 16 cases, assigned counsel represented clients in 5 cases, and privately retained attorneys represented clients in 10 cases. This represents an increase in the number of Public Defender jury trials over the previous year and a decrease in the appointed counsel and privately retained counsel.
New Open Felonies
With the five new cases involving charges of first degree murder opened in 1997, the office entered 1998 with six active/pending cases of this type. These cases are extremely time-consuming, require the assignment of two attorneys to the case, and usually result in significant expenditures of expert witness fees. Because of the number of cases opened in 1997, the office adopted the team approach to these cases. The teams include the attorneys assigned, a paralegal, an investigator, and a law clerk. Team meetings are held on a regular basis for planning and progress reviews.
For felonies, the office opened an eight year record high of 846 felony cases. This was a 9% increase over the 1996 figure. Drug felonies opened by the Public Defender's Office increased 16% and violent felonies increased 17%, demonstrating the additional resources which were focused by law enforcement and prosecution on these felony types. Because of the significant penalties under new Nebraska state laws, drug felonies are just as likely now to be prosecuted in state court as in federal court (where most of the major drug cases were filed in the past).
Disposition for Felonies
| JUVENILE Cases |
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New Open Juvenile Cases -
The number of new juvenile cases has steadily increased over the past five years. However, the 40% increase in law violation juvenile cases (from 638 cases in 1996 to 864 in 1997) was unprecedented. Most of that increase occurred in the 4th quarter of 1997 and can be attributed to the new Juvenile Diversion Program implemented in September and October of 1997. A number of juveniles, eligible for the Diversion Program, failed to respond to letters sent by the program. These cases of first-time juvenile offenders - as young as ten years old - were referred to the County or City Attorney's Office. Formal court filings and appointments of counsel followed. Juvenile Court law violation cases filed by the County Attorney increased 32% over 1996, and City Attorney cases increased 53% over the same period.
The number of new juvenile family cases also increased in 1997. The Public Defender's Office agreed to begin accepting appointments in abuse/neglect cases in late 1997 in anticipation of adding an attorney to the juvenile division in January, 1998. Due to the large increase in juvenile law violations (as noted above), the number of abuse/neglect cases that the Public Defender's Office will be able to accept in the future will be limited.
Disposition for Juvenile Law Violation cases -
| MISDEMEANOR Cases |
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New Open Misdemeanor Cases
The number of misdemeanor cases requiring appointed counsel varies from year to year and from judge to judge. Past practice shows that some appointing judges make an assessment at the outset that a particular type of case may warrant a jail sentence and therefore, court appointed counsel is most likely. Other judges may not make the same assessment. Consequently, as in 1996, categories such as disturbing the peace rose 105% in the number of new open cases in one year.
Of the major categories of misdemeanor cases, assaults and domestic violence cases showed a slight increase in 1997 while driving on suspended license and drunk driving each showed decreases. The number of theft cases requiring appointed counsel increased but this again is probably due to judicial philosophy regarding potential sentencing.
Disposition for most active categories - Domestic Violence
Disposition for most active cases - Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
| Miscellaneous Cases |
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New Open Miscellaneous Cases for 1997, by category
| Key Impact Issues for the up-coming year |
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Major Cases
As we enter the new fiscal year, the Public Defender's Office has eight
major cases pending. Six of those cases involve charges of first degree
murder. Each of those six cases have significant expert witness expenses
attached to them and will require additional funding. They will also
continue to consume large amounts of attorney time, requiring the part time
assistant public defender to be maintained at least through the end of this
calendar year.
Drug Felonies
Drug felonies filed in state court continue to rise. Currently, the
Lancaster County Attorney's Office employs two attorneys who are funded
by federal grant monies through the State Crime Commission. We are told
that the Lancaster County Attorney's Office intends to ask for a third
prosecutor for these drug offenses. The only federal drug and violent
crime money given to indigent defense in Nebraska is through the Nebraska
Commission on Public Advocacy. Lancaster County does benefit when a
commission attorney represents a client in a conflict of interest situation.
Domestic Violence Cases
Greater emphasis will continue to be placed on the investigation and prosecution of domestic violence cases. Legislative changes, prosecutorial policy changes, and requests by some for greater jail sentences in this type of case will result in more attorney time being devoted to domestic violence cases. Currently, the Lancaster County Attorney has two attorneys and a paralegal funded with federal program monies through the State Crime Commission. A new grant is being requested at this time which would not only continue those positions, but would also add a police officer and a sheriff's deputy specifically to deal with the investigation and follow-up on domestic violence cases. Because the State Crime Commission will not fund indigent defense projects under these federal grants, any required increase in staff falls upon Lancaster County.
Juvenile Cases and Nebraska Legislative Bill 1041
Congress passed the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, which will increase the termination of parental rights proceedings in the Separate Juvenile Courts and family courts across the country. States are threatened with the loss of child welfare and foster care funds if they do not bring their laws into compliance with the federal act. Nebraska is on the verge of passing L.B. 1041, bringing the state into compliance with the federal act. The Lancaster County Attorney has estimated a need for two additional deputy county attorneys in the juvenile division of his office to handle the increased workload created by L.B. 1041. Approximately $110,000 is to be appropriated under LB 1041 to fund these additional prosecutors in the Lancaster County Attorney's Office.
Overall, this legislation has the potential of adding significant costs for Lancaster County in providing counsel in Juvenile Court.
We can assume that if the costs of prosecuting these cases will be $110,000 (as appropriated by L.B. 1041), other legal costs to the county will be from three to five times that amount for these cases. This will affect all costs of providing legal services in the Juvenile Court, including Public Defender Office costs, assigned counsel costs and the contract with Legal Services of Southeast Nebraska and the law firm of Orton, Thomas, Peterson & O'Connell.
| Budget Summary |
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Conflicts and Referrals to the Commission on Public Advocacy
During 1997, the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy, a state-funded office of defense attorneys, agreed to represent clients in 13 cases where the Lancaster County Public Defenders' Office had a conflict of interest. The Commission estimates it has spent 1200 attorney hours on these cases during 1997. If private attorneys had been appointed to represent these individuals, the cost to Lancaster County Taxpayers would have been $91,655. The Commission on Public Advocacy represented these clients with no cost to Lancaster County.
Assigned Counsel (District & County Courts)
In addition to the Lancaster County Public Defender's Office, there are other indigent defense legal costs for Lancaster County. The graphs that follow show the number of cases deferred to assigned counsel for the past five years, the cost per year as well as the cost by case type.
Assigned Counsel Costs (District & County Courts)
Assigned Counsel Costs per Case by Case Type (District & County Courts)
Projected FY 98 expenditure for assigned counsel, by Court
The pie graph shows the projected FY '98 expenditures for district court (felonies), county court (misdemeanors) and juvenile court (juvenile cases), as estimated by the County's Fiscal Analyst based upon the first 6 months of expenditures in FY '98.
Budget - Other Contracts
Juvenile Court Contract - Abuse & Neglect Cases
Lancaster County has a contract with the law firm of Norton, Thomas, Peterson, & O'Connell for abuse and neglect representation in juvenile court. The contract limits the law firm to accepting 50 new cases per year with the maximum pending active - 120 cases; with expenditure of $53,000 per year. During 1997, they received their maximum of 50 new appointments, and they expended 773.38 hours on all of their pending cases.
Child Support / Paternity Contract
Lancaster County has a contract with the law firm of Ugai and Lindgren to handle defense representation in paternity and child support cases. The contract calls for payment of $48,000 with a limitation of 350 child support cases and 100 paternity cases per year, with expenditure of $100 per case for anything above those limits. At the end of their contract year of FY 97, Ugai and Lindgren were appointed to 467 child support cases, 56 Paternity cases and they expended 849.3 hours on these cases. In the first half of FY 98 (July 1, 1997 - December 31, 1997), Ugai and Lindgren were appointed to 208 child support cases and 20 paternity cases. They expended 382.9 hours.