Reasonable Caseloads

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Securing Reasonable Caseloads:
Ethics and Law in Public Defense
By Professor Norman Lefstein

• About the Author
• Contents
• Foreword by William S. Sessions
• Preface by Robert E. Stein
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: The Failure to Implement the Right to Counsel Due to Excessive Caseloads
  • A. The Constitutional Right to Counsel: Brief Overview
  • B. Excessive Workloads: A Pervasive National Problem
  • C. Why the Caseload Problem Is So Extremely Difficult to Solve
    • Inadequate Funding
    • Structural Problems
      • Appointment Process
      • Lack of Independence
    • No Control Over Intake
• Chapter 2: The Duty of Defense Programs and Lawyers to Avoid Excessive Caseloads
  • A. Rules of Professional Conduct
  • B. Performance Standards for Defense Representation
  • C. Ethics Opinions
    • ABA Ethics Opinion
    • Opinions of State Bars and the ACCD
  • D. Recommendations Related to Caseloads
    • American Bar Association
      • Criminal Justice Standards and “Ten Principles”
      • “Eight Guidelines”
    • National Advisory Commission
    • Standards in State and Local Jurisdictions
• Chapter 3: The Detrimental Effects and Risks of Excessive Caseloads
  • A. Supervision and Mentoring
  • B. Disciplinary Sanction
  • C. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
  • D. Section 1983 Liability and Wrongful Convictions
    • Individual Liability: Defenders Who Represents Clients
    • Individual Liability: Heads of Public Defense Programs
    • “Municipal” Liability
      • “Policy” and Damages Awards
      • “Custom”
      • “Failure to Train”
  • E. Malpractice Liability
    • Impediments to Malpractice Liability
    • Successful Malpractice Claims Against Defense Lawyers
• Chapter 4: Understanding Lawyer Behavior: Why Leadership Matters
  • A. Social Psychology
  • B. Organizational Culture
  • C. Change from the Top
    • Changing Culture in General
    • Changing Culture About Caseloads
• Chapter 5: Remedies for Defenders Terminated Due to Caseload Challenges
  • A. Chapter Overview
  • B. Employment At-Will
    • Brief History of the Doctrine
    • Exceptions to the At-Will Doctrine
      • Public Policy Exception
      • Implied Contract Exception
      • Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealings Exception
  • C. Montana Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act
  • D. Due Process of Law
  • E. Summing Up: Due Process, Excessive Caseloads, and Exceptions to Employment At-Will
• Chapter 6: Determining Costs and Staffing Needs
  • A. Weighted Caseload Studies
    • Overview
    • Methodology of Weighted Caseload Studies
      • National Center for State Courts
      • The Spangenberg Group
    • Summing Up Weighted Caseload Studies
  • B. Alternative Proposal: Experimental Design
  • C. Alternative Proposal: Tracking Public Defender Time
    • Law Firm Practice
    • Lancaster County Public Defender, Lincoln, Nebraska
  • D. Blinded by Numbers
• Chapter 7: Reducing Excessive Caseloads Through Litigation
  • A. Litigation Seeking to Stop New Appointments and/or Withdraw
    • New Orleans (Orleans Parish), Louisiana
    • Kingman (Mohave County), Arizona
    • Knoxville (Knox County), Tennessee
    • Miami (Dade County), Florida
  • B. Other Important Litigation
    • Kentucky—Declaratory Judgment
    • Missouri—Caseload Rules and Supervisory Authority
    • Michigan and New York—Systemic Litigation
  • C. Federal Government Lawsuits: A Potential Remedy
• Chapter 8: Case Studies—Public Defense Programs and Control of Caseloads
  • A. Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS)
    • CPCS Statute
      • Independence
      • Special Statutory Provisions
      • Significant Litigation
    • Ensuring Quality
      • Public Defender Division
      • Private Counsel Division
  • B. Public Defender Service (PDS), Washington, D.C.
    • PDS Statute
    • PDS Staff: Ensuring Quality
      • Training
      • Supervision
      • Caseloads
    • Private Assigned Counsel
  • C. Private Defender Program (PDP), San Mateo County, California
    • Organization of the PDP
      • Independence and Management
      • PDP Lawyers
    • Ensuring Quality
      • Investigations
      • Training
      • Mentoring
      • Performance Evaluations
      • Caseloads
• Chapter 9: Recommendations—Indigent Defense Structures and Litigation Strategies
  • A. Indigent Defense Structures
    • Role of the Private Bar
    • Securing Independence and Empowering the Defense
    • Client Selection of Counsel
  • B. Litigation Strategies
    • Multiple Motions Instead of a Test Case
    • Refusing to Provide Representation in New Cases
      • Authority Related to Refusing Court Appointments
      • Difference Between Filing a Motion and Declaring “Unavailable”
      • The Case for Declaring “Unavailable” and Refusing to Proceed
    • Objecting to the Conduct of Prosecutors
  • C. Conclusion
• Appendices
  • Appendix A: Public Defender Service for D.C.—Clients’ Bill of Rights
  • Appendix B: Public Defender Service for D.C.—Lawyer Development Plan
  • Appendix C: Table of Cases
• Index