For the first time, Pa. will provide counties with funding to help indigent defendants

For the first time in Pennsylvania’s history, the state next year will provide funding to counties for indigent legal defense.

While the proposed $7.5 million in funding passed earlier this year with the budget, it wasn’t until Wednesday night that the funding mechanism to allow the money to be allocated passed.

Pennsylvania was the only remaining state in the country to have never provided funding for indigent defense.

“$7.5 million is not going to fix the indigent defense problems in Pennsylvania,” said David Carroll, the executive director of the Sixth Amendment Center. “The general vibe I’m hearing across the state is, ‘let’s turn the tap on and get it to a proper funding level down the road.”

The first-time funding for indigent defense in Pennsylvania was proposed by Gov. Josh Shapiro in his 2023-24 budget.

State Sen. Vincent Hughes, D-Philadelphia, one of the funding bill’s sponsors, described the funding as a first step.

“This provides some level of equity so we can make sure innocent people and the lawyers that defend them aren’t overwhelmed,” Hughes said.

The legislation creates an indigent defense advisory committee and grant fund. The committee will create state-specific standards for indigent defense. The grant fund will be available to counties that cannot meet those standards under their current funding.

Hughes said that with the help of the advisory committee, the state will be able to collect data to make the case for funding indigent defense at even higher levels.

In Pennsylvania, individual counties spend more than $125 million on indigent defense each year. In Allegheny County, $11.8 million was budgeted for indigent defense in 2023.

Carroll said that studies show that Pennsylvania is one of the worst states in the country for providing indigent defense. It is often lumped in with Mississippi, South Dakota and rural California.

In Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have a greater ability to fund indigent defense, versus more rural communities.

Typically, poorer communities with depressed real estate values and lower earnings have more people who qualify for public defender services, Carroll said.

“Often the counties with the least ability to fund that mandate are the ones in greatest need,” Carroll said.

He said concerns with indigent defense in Pennsylvania include defendants foregoing their rights to defense counsel under pressure from the criminal justice system in Pennsylvania.

Hughes said that indigent defendants often appear in court without the resources or knowledge to advocate for themselves.

“They’re at the whim of a system they’re intimidated by,” he said.

While public defenders are often some of the best attorneys, Hughes said, they don’t have the resources to mount an equal defense.

In an attempt to study that issue, Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor announced last week that his office will conduct an audit of indigent defense — including the public defender’s office, court appointments and the Office of Conflict Counsel.

O’Connor said the results of the audit are expected in several months.

Andrew Capone, who spent 13 years working in Allegheny County’s public defender’s office, now serves as an assistant training director for the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania.

While he praised the work done in Allegheny County, he said the funding is insufficient.

“The PD’s office and the people there are doing a phenomenal job with the resources they have,” he said. “But they need more.”

Capone cited excessive caseloads that prevent attorneys from spending enough time on them.

The county needs to provide enough funding to help defendants receive not just adequate legal services, but also social service assistance.

“Criminal behavior is always a symptom of an underlying issue, like mental health, substance abuse or extreme indigency,” he said.

Capone said the audit will benefit the county.

“I think it’s a huge step forward,” Capone said. “We need to know what resources we’re allocating where.”

One of the problems in Pennsylvania, he said, is that there are 62 separate public defender systems, and all of them collect data differently.

“It’s really difficult to have any kind of stability or best practices across the state when there’s such varying systems and resources,” Capone said.

Having statewide standards set by the advisory committee authorized by the legislation will provide better data, allowing offices to follow best practices.

“Even though it’s only a drop in the bucket, it’s a big step forward,” Capone said. “I think we’re trending in the right direction.”