Unless a staff shortage eases, the Wyoming Public Defender’s Office will stop representing defendants charged with misdemeanors in Wyoming’s northeast corner, according to a Thursday letter three judges sent to the region’s attorneys.
Circuit Court Judges Wendy M. Bartlett, Paul S. Phillips and Lynda R. Bush wrote a letter addressed address to "Counsel," urging attorneys in Gillette and surrounding areas to offer their services for $100 an hour to ease the public defender shortage.
Wyoming State Public Defender Brandon Booth met with the judges earlier Thursday and concluded that because of an attorney shortage, his office would soon declare itself “unavailable” to represent indigent defendants facing misdemeanors in the 6th Judicial Circuit.
This change is expected to happen no later than Feb. 1, the letter says.
Defendants charged with serious crimes, or any crime where a jail sentence could result, have a constitutional right to an attorney.
Many misdemeanors in Wyoming carry potential jail sentences, some as lengthy as one year.
If a defendant facing jail time can’t afford his own attorney, the court must appoint one at the state’s expense, the letter says.
Normally, the Wyoming Public Defender does that, but state law also lets the judge appoint a private attorney if necessary.
Come On Then
The duty of serving poorer defendants falls on members of the Wyoming State Bar — attorneys — the letter says.
“The unfortunate situation faced by the Office of the Wyoming State Public Defender affords each of us an opportunity to renew our commitment to justice for those less fortunate,” the letter says.
It asks members of the state bar serving in northeast Wyoming to “notify us as soon as possible of their willingness to represent indigent defendants” at a rate of $100 an hour.
The letter says the local public defender’s office would oversee specific compensation and other questions, and extend malpractice coverage.
If not enough lawyers volunteer to do this, the court may be forced to implement a rotating appointment program, as allowed by state law, the letter says.
Lawyer Desert All Around
Crook County Attorney Joe Baron told Cowboy State Daily on Friday that the attorney shortage isn’t just in the public defender’s office, it’s in every kind of law office, and it affects other regions of Wyoming too.
He attributes that to a wave of recent retirees, to a difficulty finding affordable housing in Wyoming’s northeast corner and the law landscape galvanizing into specialties instead of revolving around general practice.
Attorneys used to working in private practice may not find the offer of $100 an hour that attractive compared to private-practice rates, Baron added. The figure is going to vary wildly depending on attorney experience, but some ask around $240 in that corner of the state, he said.
Baron’s had trouble hiring as well and has resorted to hiring two part-time attorneys instead of a full-time attorney because of the lower government rates, he said.
Wyoming caps county attorney salaries at $145,000 per year.
“With this job, you’re on-call 24/7,” Baron said. “We could get called out to do whatever — every day, over the holiday season. … Somebody’s gotta do it in the office.”
Campbell County Public Defender Supervisor Dallas Lamb, who serves in the district where the judges are asking for help, declined Friday to comment via his office attendant.
Booth did not respond Friday to a voicemail request for comment. His office attendant said average salaries for public defenders would not be immediately available Friday.
Numbers from 2021 on govsalaries.com say some county public defender supervisors in Wyoming make around $90,000 annually, though “practicing” and not managing public defenders often make less.
Weston County Attorney Michael Stulken, who also serves in the Sixth Judicial District, said the local Public Defender's office attorneys have generally represented high professionalism and realistic perspective on each case.
"From what I’ve observed, those who were working in the Public Defender’s Office attempt to represent their clients to the best of their abilities," wrote Stulken in a Friday email. "The problem was that it appeared that became impossible, with my observation that the attorneys’ case loads were to the points where not only could they not provide the services the attorneys desired, but also what their clients deserved.
"Perhaps a closer look at attorney case loads, compensation, and support should be in order."
Second Rodeo
Under a different state public defender, Diane Lozano, the state office made a similar announcement to Thursday’s in 2019.
Lozano’s office announced in May of that year that her attorneys could no longer represent people charged with misdemeanors in Campbell County until more attorneys were hired.
Lozano told Gov. Mark Gordon at the time that the state paying for private attorneys to fill the void could “bankrupt” the entire public defender budget, and yet the working public defenders were overworked and underpaid. She didn’t take the decision to boycott smaller cases lightly, but said she didn’t believe there was another option.
Lozano’s office was running at the time on the 2018 state budget, which had allocated $28.6 million to the Wyoming Public Defender’s Office for the biennium.
In 2020, the Legislature boosted that allocation to $34.8 million.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
