FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) - Assistant public defenders in Williamson County are taking on fewer new cases after they said they have been faced with increasing caseloads.
According to The Tennessean (https://tnne.ws/1pWXaMP ), 21st District Public Defender Vanessa Bryan said that her two assistant public defenders working criminal cases in circuit court are handling more cases than are recommended, and therefore, they have stopped taking some new cases for a while.
“We’re not refusing all cases, we’re just telling the judge each day we’re in court, ’as of right now I cannot accept this case,’” Bryan said.
New cases involving poor defendants are now being assigned to private lawyers.
District Attorney Kim Helper said she’ll file an objection next week, asking Bryan to provide more evidence of the excessive caseloads.
“The two public defenders who represent the office have maintained in court they are each handling 300 cases,” Helper said. “There needs to be a hearing or some sort of public indication to the challenges the public defender is facing.”
Bryan declined to give caseload numbers to the newspaper, but said they’re double what they were three months ago.
“The state has not provided any new assistants in 10 years,” she said. “I have an ethical duty, as well as the judge and DA, to make sure I am representing people competently.”
According to Deputy Clerk Roberta Faulkner, the two public defenders and their office have about 210 total cases assigned to them. Faulkner said there are about 700 pending criminal cases, excluding pending violations, with upcoming court dates in the county circuit court.
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Information from: The Tennessean, https://www.tennessean.com
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