News

Juvenile Justice

May 29

Defender: State $$$ is crucial

The Public Defender’s Office has been struggling to keep up with juvenile caseloads since revamping of policies.

TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER tmorgan@timesleader.com

WILKES-BARRE – Luzerne County Chief Public Defender Al Flora said Friday it’s crucial that the state heed a juvenile commission’s call for state funding of juvenile defense work if the county is to continue with the reforms it has made to address shortcomings that led to the juvenile justice scandal.

The Public Defender’s Office has been struggling to keep up with juvenile caseloads since it revamped its policies last September to require all juveniles be provided publicly funded counsel if they do not have a private attorney, he said.

The office previously handled a total of 100 to 200 cases per year prior to the revision. As of January this year, it has already taken on 142 cases, Flora said, and they’re being handled by a single, full-time public defender, Cheryl Sobeski-Reedy.

Flora estimated that Sobeski-Reedy’s case load will reach 400 by the end of the year, which is double the caseload that is considered manageable. He said he wants to dedicate more attorneys for juvenile defense but can’t do so without jeopardizing the work the office does in adult criminal court. He is doubtful any additional county funding will be available to increase staff.

The Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice on Thursday issued a report recommending dozens of changes to the juvenile justice system, including establishing a state funding source for the defense of indigent juvenile defendants.

The commission, which investigated failings within the county’s juvenile justice system, noted Pennsylvania is one of only two states that do not provide funding for juvenile defense work, leaving the cost to be covered by individual counties. That leads to wide discrepancies in the quality of representation, or, as the commission called it, “justice by geography.”

Several state legislators vowed Thursday to push for the funding. But Flora said he believes the state’s own money woes, coupled with the political unpopularity of using tax dollars to defend persons charged with crimes, make it unlikely any significant money will be freed up.

“I’m not going to hold my breath,” Flora said. “It’s not to anyone’s political advantage to fund the Public Defender’s Office because we represent people accused of crimes. The general attitude is if someone is charged with a crime, they must have done it.”

Flora, who was appointed chief public defender on May 12, said he is still evaluating the department and has not yet determined how many more attorneys he might need to handle the juvenile caseload. He said plans to meet with county commissioners soon to discuss funding for the office.

Terrie Morgan-Besecker, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-829-7179.

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