Evangeline Parish public defenders face severe state budget cuts

Evangeline Parish public defenders were hit recently as part of the state’s $5.4 million budget cut, leading to a decrease of $100,000 in funding locally.
Alex “Sonny” Chapman, who oversees public defense in Evangeline Parish, says it has been operating with an annual budget of $300,000 since 2007, and this budget cut will leave them with only $200,000 and five public defenders. Of those five defenders, only three are able to work on felony cases. This becomes a major concern, he said, because there are currently 680 adult felony cases pending in Evangeline Parish. He added this is particularly worrisome when considering the American Bar Association standards call for public defenders to work on only 75 felony cases. With three public defenders handling 680 cases, that gives each a case load of 226.
“I’m afraid that’s the biggest problem,” Chapman said. “Each case needs professional, 100 percent representation. We cannot effectively work on so many cases and it could lead to claims of ineffective counsel.”
Chapman said that even in cases where the defendant is found guilty, providing effective counsel is at least comforting for the defendant’s family, as they feel the defendant was able to have his day in court.
With the state’s recent cuts, it is unclear what the future holds for local public defenders. State Public Defender Jay Dixon said he expects some public defender boards to run out of annual funding before September and that there is nothing that can be done about it.