Idaho public defender workload: Do they really care about your case?

NAMPA, Idaho (CBS 2) — In our country's public court system, public defenders face a notoriously heavy caseload. So, what is the quality of representation a person can truly expect from a 'free' attorney?

"There is a perception that public defenders are just, too many cases, running through the mill, you're just another number to them," said Aaron Bazzoli, Chief Public Defender for Canyon County.

It's a concern that's not entirely unwarranted considering that at any given time public defenders can have upwards of 100 cases on their desk. However, according to Aaron Bazzoli, that caseload is smaller than it used to be.

"We're doing a better job over the past decade keeping people in public defense work," said Aaron. "By paying competitive wages [and] creating an office where there's good support."

That's the case in Canyon County, as well as many places in Idaho, where Board of Commissioners are now recognizing the value of retaining quality attorneys.

The field of public defense — which not long ago was seen by many as a stepping stone for rookie attorneys to earn their stripes before heading into private practice — has turned into what more attorneys are seeing as an option for a lifelong career.

Over the past ten years, many counties have upped their funding — to better compensate public defenders for their years of experience, to hire more paralegals, investigators, and other support staff that help take the load off of the public defenders alone.

Aaron believes this transition is helping provide the public with the quality representation that the law entitles them to.

"I could be as guilty as can be, but I deserve my day in court. That's what our constitution says," said Aaron. "If I choose to have that day in court, then I want an attorney who wants to be there, is willing to be there and is going to fight for me - regardless of whether we're going to win or lose."

CBS 2 reached out to the Idaho Prosecuting Attorney's Association about their workload, which they responded, in part, the statement below:

"The work load of Idaho’s prosecutors varies county to county, and in many counties, one or more prosecutors may be handling both civil and criminal case loads at the same time. While the work load varies, the prosecutors across Idaho are experiencing increasing caseloads which are stretching their resources to the maximum."

Canyon County's Public Defender Office — by the numbers:

Law firm of about 44 people total (26 public defenders, 12 legal support staff, three investigators, one paralegal, one Chief and one Chief Deputy.)

Attorneys range from 3 months experience to 33 year’s experience.

Average attorney experience is 12 years in practice

8100 cases in 2018 — a generally consistent number year to year.

Average 110 active cases at a time.

Average about 6-10 new cases a week.

Cases take an average of 90 to 120 days to go through the system.

Most attorneys are at a salary of about $60,000. It goes up based on experience.

What are public defenders?

A person unable to hire an attorney is considered indigent and they will then be offered an attorney at the cost of taxpayers.

Public defenders represent everything from felony murder cases to misdemeanor inattentive driving cases — anyone whose potential sentence could involve them going to jail (losing their liberties).

The average cost to taxpayers per case is difficult to break down, according to Aaron, because each case is so different. Cases range from misdemeanors that open and close rather quickly all the way up to death penalty cases which can cost upwards of $100,000 in attorney fees.