PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia’s Public Defender said they have to scale down some of their programs and involvement with defendants because funding needs were not met and they are still millions of dollars short.
Chief Defender Keisha Hudson said she told the court they would no longer take part in monthly emergency bail hearings or be involved with parole violation matters if they weren’t the defense attorneys from the start. Essentially, they will not fill the void when it’s needed.
Hudson said judges also need to check whether defendants can afford an attorney before just calling on the defender to step in.
“We are now asking the courts to follow the rules and inquire of the defendant, you know, do you have an ability to hire private counsel? We see you hire private counsel for the preliminary hearing,” Hudson said. “Do you work, and what's your income, and do you have any dependents? So, asking the court to do what's statutorily required before they routinely disappoint us on cases, which has just been the practice for decades.”
The office had requested a $5 million increase, and after some discussions at City Hall, they secured $2 million instead of being flat-funded.
