Miscellaneous

Giant Slashing Sound: Budget Cuts Cost Jobs

By Anne Skove, Esq.

• Budget deficit, in dollars (as opposed to krones), of the State of Minnesota Board of Public Defense: $3.8 million


• Amount (again, dollars!) by which the state legislature slashed the Board's budget: $1.5 million


• Percent of Minnesotans accused of felonies who rely on public defenders: 85


• Percent of Minnesotans accused of misdemeanors who rely on public defenders: 50


• Average cases per year handled by a public defender in Minnesota: 714


• Number of FT positions cut, starting next month: 72


• Number of those positions currently vacant: 19


• Number of those eliminated via early retirement and other voluntary departures: 30


• Number of public defenders facing layoffs: 23-24


• Current number of FT public defenders in MInnesota: 441

See 72 Public Defenders to Budget Cuts, AP/WCCO (June 5, 2008). Thanks to our resident Minnesotan for finding this!

See also Et tu, Florida?, Gideon, A Public Defender (June 4, 2008). Shout-out to A Public Defender for covering something as wildly sexy as...budget cuts! (Well it is to us!)

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on June 06, 2008 (boomark / email).