Vol. 76, No. 12, December
2003
Expanding Eligibility for Public Defender Representation
The McCormick Plan for Justice, AB 616, ensures that the indigent
accused receive counsel by increasing a statewide eligibility
standard.
by Terri McCormick
Rep. Terri
McCormick represents the 56th Assembly district, and resides in
Appleton with her family. She was elected in November 2000 and serves as
chair of the Assembly Committee on Economic Development and as vice
chair of the Committee on Judiciary. She serves on several other
committees, including Education Reform, Insurance, Public Health, and
Transportation.
Fewer poor people qualify for a public defender today than ever
before because the financial eligibility standards for representation by
the State Office of the Public Defender (SPD) are so outdated. Indigent
defendants who do not qualify for SPD representation are at the mercy of
judges to appoint counsel to represent them at county taxpayer expense,
even though it is the right of the accused to have legal representation
under our state and federal constitutions. With no statewide eligibility
standard in place, judges are appointing counsel based on varying levels
of poverty, creating a multi-pronged, patchwork system of indigent
defense. To right this injustice, I have introduced legislation ensuring
that the state fulfills its constitutional obligation to provide counsel
to the indigent accused.
The McCormick Plan for Justice, Assembly Bill 616 (AB 616), expands
eligibility for representation by a public defender. The current
eligibility standards are tied by statute to the obsolete 1987 AFDC
table and equal 33 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). Under
these standards, a person making as little as $2.87/hour does not
qualify for representation. My proposal would raise SPD eligibility
standards to 115 percent of the FPL, the same as that for Wisconsin
Works (W-2) eligibility. It will guarantee that criminal defendants
found to have income at or below the W-2 standard will receive legal
representation.
Currently, counties are appointing counsel for these defendants at a
higher cost than SPD representation. Valuable court time is monopolized
and cases have to be adjourned while poor people wait in jail without
counsel. Since these costs are borne by county taxpayers, this bill
provides the solution, which minimizes the eventual impact to
taxpayers.
This bill would ultimately provide a permanent fix to the funding
dilemma. In the short term, counties would only have to provide
reimbursement to the state at a fixed rate and at a much lower cost.
And, after the end of the 2003-2005 state fiscal biennium, the state
would pick up the full cost, ending county liability for representing
indigent defendants.
I have every confidence that moving all of the appointments to the
SPD is a sound decision. The SPD is a Wisconsin Forward Mastery Award
Recipient, in recognition of its dedication to organizational excellence
and cost efficiency. The agency's reputation of achieving cost
efficiency with quality is known worldwide; other countries, notably
Israel and Japan, have modeled their indigent defense programs on
Wisconsin's SPD program.
Indigent defense reform is long overdue. The calls for such reform
have come from individuals, taxpayers, and justice partners statewide.
We have reached a critical moment in our state, and we must move
urgently and purposefully to ensure that all Wisconsin citizens are
guaranteed their constitutional right to counsel. More realistic
eligibility standards for counsel for the accused indigent will help
re-establish a fair and efficient justice system in Wisconsin.
Assembly Bill 616 is not about a luxury - but a constitutional right.
I believe we have no greater responsibility as a legislature than to
ensure the effective administration of justice. This legislation is
innovative not simply for what it does, but for how it accomplishes its
goal of representation for all. It encompasses partnerships and cost
sharing and as a result is a lasting solution.
As vice chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee and long-time
advocate for court reform, I am honored to introduce AB 616, legislation
that will at long last repair our system and guarantee liberty and
justice for all.
Wisconsin
Lawyer