Blair County public defender seeks more attorneys

Office can temporarily fund two lawyers’ salaries; caseloads piling up for staff

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- With caseloads piling up, Blair County's Chief Public Defender Julia Burke requested funding to add two attorneys to the Public Defender's Office.

During the first day of the county's budget hearings, Burke told commissioners Laura Burke and Amy Webster that the public defender's office annually receives grant funding from the state. The office has accumulated a pool of money over time that can temporarily fund two attorneys' salaries of $63,408, not including benefits.

"I can't emphasize enough how difficult the past year has been," Burke told the commissioners. "I'm struggling, and we need more coverage."

She said trials, hearings and sentencings are constant, as judges are creating their own schedules instead of relying on court administration to ensure attorneys aren't double-booked.

"I was hoping it would normalize a little bit, but I think it's only going to get worse," she said.

Apart from taking no time off this year, she said she can't cover all court hearings. Operating on a tight time margin, she said their schedules can't accommodate unexpected personal conflicts, such as someone being out sick. During the budget meeting, someone called Burke's phone for help in an ongoing trial.

"That's unsustainable," she said. "And I think I'd be doing a very poor job in my role if I don't have an office where people can take some breaks because this is hard work no matter what."

She said their caseload is astronomical compared to other counties with similar population sizes, with six times as many cases as is normal for counties with larger population sizes.

They currently have six full-time and two part-time attorneys. Burke said the first assistant public defender is considering retirement, so working attorneys would absorb that position's workload. Absorbing additional cases from former employees has already backlogged cases that go to trial by the end of the year, she said.

"I don't think two attorneys is the total amount I'd like to change, but I think that's a reasonable amount to ask for at this stage," she said.

With remaining county funds allocated to the public defender's office, Burke said she is more than happy to use it toward new attorney salaries. Based on rough estimates, grant and county money can't fully fund that position forever; they can cover two new attorney salaries for about a year and a half, and then it would depend on county funding going forward.

"Regardless of the grant, we simply need more attorneys in the office to handle the workload," she said.

She also requested adding second chairs to trials to help new attorneys get court experience and handle their own cases at a quicker pace. However, she said current coverage issues eliminate that possibility.

"I think that's a real shame because that is the best opportunity to learn," she said. "We need to train experienced attorneys."

Other departments that presented their budgets Monday included Emergency Management, which requested to replace their 2008 Suburban with a Chevy Tahoe for use by the Department of Emergency Services, and 911, which requested additional training. Controller and the Planning Commission offices also presented their budgets.

Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.