Public Defense

State budget cuts will hit Madison County courtrooms hard beginning in July, and among those who will feel the effects most will be defendants who cannot afford to hire attorneys and those who represent them.

The Department of Public Advocacy announced this week that a $2.5 million reduction to its annual budget for the upcoming fiscal year will force them to lay off 54 employees and cut a variety of services.

While the full impact of those cuts still are unknown in Madison County, local office Director Scott West said funding to hire attorneys to help in cases with multiple co-defendants, called conflict cases, already is unavailable. One hundred and sixty-one conflict cases were conducted in Richmond during 2007, according to the DPA Annual Case Report.

?That is going to be an immediate thing felt at the Richmond office,? West said.