COUNTY: Focus on public defenders

I commend the County Commissioners for seriously considering a study of the public defenders’ system. My recent viewing of the documentary “Gideon’s Army,” previewed at the Human Rights Education Institute last week, has sparked my interest in this subject.

The public defenders system in our country has long been neglected, to the point of collapse in some states, with underfunded and overworked attorneys who labor mightily against the odds. I suspect that all is not well even in our own county.

Allocating adequate resources to a population of folks which has broken the law in sometimes egregious ways does not garner a lot of support or sympathy from the citizenry. The prosecutors’ offices, on the other hand, are much better funded; the prosecutor is often an elected official who works to show that s/he is tough on crime, even if that means questionable tactics to assure that people go to jail.

Public defenders, often young, just starting out, trying to make a living, typically work under the burdens of low pay and high workloads buoyed by their commitment to assure that justice is carried out fairly to their clients. In the long run their efforts strengthen our system of justice so that it works better for all of us. Therefore, choose the option which studies the system thoroughly and, I hope, will lead to salaries, benefits and work load more in line with those in the prosecutor’s office.

PAULA NEILS

Hauser