Today's Lubbock Avalanche-Journal carries the editorial, "Regional public defender's office has worked well."
THE CONCEPT OF establishing a regional public defender's office for capital murder cases was centered around providing good legal representation to defendants while protecting counties from excessive legal fees for representation of indigent clients.
It was a promising idea on the part of attorney Philip Wischkaemper and David Slayton, director of court administration for Lubbock County, that has lived up to its promise.
Slightly more than a year after veteran attorney Jack Stoffregen was hired to head the office, the West Texas Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases is operating smoothly and exceeding expectations.
The 11-person staff is currently handling 11 capital cases, including one from Lubbock County, among the 65 counties that are participating in the program. The population size of each county determines the amount the county contributes to the program.
Before the public defender's office was established, each county was responsible for its own indigent defense costs for capital cases. A county with a large population such as Lubbock could absorb such costs more easily, but the smaller counties were in a position to be financially hurt.
And:
"Its just amazing to see that it's not only done what we thought it would do, but I think the office has done even more than I envisioned," said Mr. Slayton.
The office is based in Lubbock but has branches in Amarillo and Midland. Because the sole focus is capital cases, the staff is able to get to work immediately on a case and spend a lot of time preparing for it.
Mr. Slayton's comparing participating in the program to buying an insurance policy is apt, especially for smaller counties.
The counties are saving money and are being protected from huge financial burdens, and the defendants are getting quality representation. Establishing the office was a good idea that has paid off well.
Earlier coverage of the office begins with this post.
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