Who's responsible for the cost of indigent defense?
The Law of Criminal defense reports on an Iowa lawyer public defender who asked for sanctions against a prosecutor for making her prepare for trial, even though he knew he was going to dismiss the case. Predictably, the judge held he had no authority to issue sanctions. Although the result was predictable, the story highlights one of overlooked aspects of indigent defense.
No politician wants to spend money on indigent defense. Almost everyone has heard the question "Why do we have to spend so much money paying for lawyers for criminals?" What know one ever mentions is the effect prosecutors have on those costs, especially in places where there is no public defenders office. Discovery is an area where lawyers spend a lot of time, much of it needlessly; there are many lawyers who have to waste time (and money) sitting in the DA's office, taking notes from the offense reports. In many places, you also have to waste time looking for a prosecutor, so you can review the reports. Prosecutors also waste resources when they wait until the last minute to evaluate a case, and make a final decision. Of course, they have no incentive to try and save money on defense costs, and I doubt its something they even think about.
There's no telling how much money we could save by making things easier for defense lawyers; not only money on indigent defense, but also money spent housing defendants who don't need to be in jail, or don't need to stay in county jails. Maybe filing a Motion for Sanctions is a way to bring the issue to the front...
