During a speech to the Hamilton County Pachyderm Club on Monday, Public Defender Steve Smith gave a report on what his office has done in his first year and indicated where it may focus its efforts in coming years.
Included in those areas of focus are how the office handles misdemeanor cases and how the state might better address bond issues.
He cited concerns about the “thousands and thousands” of misdemeanor cases that come through the court system, saying that having four minutes to make one’s case is not ideal, especially if the charge carries a sentence of 11 months and 29 days.
Touching on the issue of exorbitant bond costs, he asked the club who among them, if anyone, had several thousand dollars in the bank that they could withdraw now to throw around in legal costs.
He said, “I think that if we took a look at the bond numbers, we would be shocked by the number of people who don’t need to be there.”
He also said that bonds were initially designed primarily as a protective measure for the public, and may not be appropriate in many cases.
Mr. Smith also gave a quick rundown on the condition of his office, the work they do, and how things have changed.
He said that the Hamilton County Courts Building typically deals with 400-450 defendants a month, many of whom have multiple cases. There are currently 15 assistant public defenders handling those cases.
But that 30-person work load is far better than it was just a short while ago when he says that assistant public defenders were each handling around 70 defendants at a time.
He said that lawyers and judges are now telling him that defendants are asking for new lawyers far less, meaning that they are now more satisfied with their representation.
He told the club that the system has, “a lot of things wrong with it, but in the grand scheme of things with the thousands of cases that come through, I think we’re doing a fine job.”