Public Defender Services Regains Staff
By Jack Rogers, Esq.

In 1981 the Legislature established the Public Legal Services Council to ensure the provision of Indigent defense in the most effective and efficient manner possible. The original configuration of the office of Public Legal Services included an Appellate Division and a Criminal Low Research Center charged with the responsibility of providing continuing education programs, digests of West Virginia Supreme Court decisions and other research materials.

Because of extreme budget restrictions throughout the 199O's (central office expenditures actually decreased by 2.5% from
1 989 through 1999) Public Defender Services was unable to continue representing appellate clients after 1997, and was unable to provide continuing education seminars after 1987 (the West Virginia Digest was continued until 1999). Despite substantial increases in the overall budget (increasing from $6.5 million in FY 1989190 to$27.5 million in FY 1999/2000) central office salaries stagnated and positions were cut.

Following intense Legislative scrutiny (seven legislative studies over a period of five years, none of which uncovered any significant management Issues), Public Defender Services Initiated a study by the nationally recognized Spangenberq Group, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, consulting group, in conjunction with a Task Force of prominent West Virginia attorneys and judges. Among other recommendations the Task Force found the Legislature should fund the vacant appellate and research positions mandated by W Va. Code 29-2 1 - 1, et seq.

Governor Underwood incorporated those recommendations in his 200012001 budget request and the Legislature concurred. As a result, Public Defender Services now has on staff two new appellate lawyers, Jack Hickock and Paul Stone, along with a paralegal, Elva Floyd. In addition, the Criminal Law Research Center has been reestablished, with Peggy Rash as Director. Iris Brisendine is her Administrative Services Assistant and Pam Clark is the support staff.

On a selective basis the Appellate Division will take appointed cases from all Circuits. To avoid unreasonable delay, we ask that judges who wish to appoint Public Defender Services to an appeal contact Jack Hickok at 304-558-3905 prior to appointment to ensure that the office is able to handle the appeal. Any attorney interested in referring cases should contact his or her Circuit Judge.

With respect to the Research Center, we will mail to active criminal law practitioners an extensive survey regarding what types of continuing, education programs they may find useful. We invite your suggestions and encourage you to take the time to fill this survey out and return it. For convenience, the survey will also be available an Public Defender Services home page at www.wvpds.org.

I would like to acknowledge the support of Governor Underwood, Secretary Jack Buckalew and the legislative leadership who made these improvements possible. Further, the Indigent Defense Task Force under the leadership of John McCuskey deserves special mention for the hours of hard work they devoted to the examination of the indigent defense system. Without the active support of all the persons named above and many others none of these improvements would have been made.