Judges or elected officials in many counties nationwide have full oversight over public defense, a structure that can pressure public defenders to avoid making motions that may agitate a judge.
Editor's note: This story is part of 'Broken Defense,' an investigative series from Lee Enterprises. More details about this project can be found at the bottom of this article.
Zamora and King grew concerned about bias against their clients. They made at least eight motions that year to get Mallery kicked off their cases. Everyone in the inquiry is forbidden to discuss the allegations because the investigation into Mallery’s conduct is ongoing. Calls and messages to Zamora were not returned. King agreed to an interview, but did not discuss the inquiry.
Vaavia Rudd, an attorney who worked in the same Panhandle county courts over which Board presided, said fear of retaliation sometimes affected her defense strategies.Judges or elected officials in many counties nationwide have full oversight over public defense, a structure that can lead to “subtle pressure” on public defenders to avoid using many county resources or making motions that agitate a judge.
Public defenders must remain independent to fulfill their adversarial role of fighting governments on behalf of people whose freedom is at stake, the court has said. The default system puts judges in charge of case assignments. The problem isn’t usually that judges act maliciously or unconstitutionally, but that public defenders worry about pleasing judges rather than focusing on clients, according to a Sixth Amendment Center study of two Texas Panhandle counties.
“He really chilled the indigent defense,” King said of Mallery. “And it was budgetary I’m sure. But it was very difficult doing public defender work in his court.” Defense attorney Savina Haas was a full-time staff attorney in the now-dissolved Lassen County public defender’s office from 2017 to 2020. Her resources, including investigators, came from a limited county budget, not judges.
Lassen County Chief Administrative Officer Richard Egan is accountable for the county budget, its contractors and each department’s purchasing needs, but did not directly oversee the public defender department. He said he’s not aware that requests for investigators or travel were rejected.Idaho County public defender John Wiltse’s investigator and expert witness requests are approved as needed, but requesting them from both the judge and county administration is inefficient.
Singh said in some areas of Idaho, county commissioners and prosecutors are “improperly influencing how public defenders are doing their job.” She said some commissioners have dictated how much time public defenders devote to cases, and some prosecutors have influenced who county leaders pick as the top public defender.
Keenan said more state funding or a statewide public defense system would help rural counties. The Legislature often reallocates state funds earmarked for public defense to other agencies, including the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
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