NCJ Number
137008
Date Published
1992
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This Fifteenth Annual Report of the Vermont Office of the Defender General presents information on the purpose and status of the public defender system, the history of Vermont's public defender system, program structure, demand for services, special demands, and costs/client contribution for public defense services.
Abstract
The report indicates that Vermont's commitment to the provision of counsel for indigent defendants and children in abuse, neglect, and delinquency cases continues to face significant and critical challenges. The fundamental problem is the failure of resources to keep pace with caseload demands. Based upon past fiscal years, current staffing, and caseload patterns, certain trends and factors have had and will continue to have impact on the public defense mission. There is a continuing pattern of caseload escalation; an increase in the number of homicide cases in which representation is handled by public defenders; continued increases in the reporting and prosecution of child abuse, neglect, and delinquency and sexual assault cases; and increases in the costs of criminal litigation. Increased public awareness and vigorous prosecution of certain categories of cases -- such as sex, motor vehicle, and drug offenses -- that were formerly less prevalent in the judicial system have strained court dockets. For public defenders, the complexity and volume of caseloads assigned in recent years and continuing into fiscal year 1992 have pressed the constitutional and statutory obligations to provide effective assistance of counsel beyond the sustainable capacity of current staffing. Appended statistics, graphs, and expenditures