In the News: Financial deficiencies at the Orleans Public Defenders office
Visit the Orleans Public Defenders website. Eliza Baron, a 2008-2009 AVODAH Corps Member, is currently working as a Client Welfare Specialist at the Orleans Public Defenders office.
Public defenders ask New Orleans City Council to plug holes in budget
by Laura Maggi, The Times-Picayune
Leaders of the Orleans public defenders office are asking the City Council to supplement their budget, saying their lawyers will not be able to handle the large volume of criminal cases in New Orleans without money to replace an expiring $1.7 million federal grant.
If the office cannot maintain current financing, interim Chief Public Defender Christopher Flood said, leaders will need to make tough choices, including cutting back on staff and reducing the number of cases they accept. The office may have to reduce the number of courts covered by public defenders, who currently represent poor clients in not only Criminal District Court, but also municipal, juvenile and traffic courts.
“We will have a reduction of services: giving cases back, refusing new cases,” he said. “We are working on trying to avoid it from happening.”
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