Lorain County Commissioners hold second discussion on creating county public defender

Laura Austen, assistant director at the Ohio Public Defender's Office, spoke Tuesday to the Lorain County Board of Commissioners about what it would mean to start a public defender's office in Lorain County. Citing budget concerns, Commissioner David Moore, a Republican, recently questioned the millions of dollars Lorain County pays appointed attorneys each year to represent indigent defendants in county courts. The majority of that money is reimbursed by the state public defender's office out of its annual budget. Reimbursement currently is at 82 percent and hasn't been 100 percent since 2022, said Austen, who was joined at the meeting by her boss, Ohio Public Defender Elizabeth Miller. That leaves Lorain County making up the rest of the cost. The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to an attorney. If a person is indigent, meaning they can't afford an attorney, one must be provided for them. Some Ohio counties have a dedicated public defender's office and government-employed attorneys to represent indigent criminal defendants. In Lorain County, that work is done entirely by private attorneys appointed by the courts. The Ohio Public Defender's Office, or OPD, reimburses Lorain County a portion of that cost. Lorain County spent approximately $3.6 million to $3.8 million on indigent criminal defense over the past year, and was reimbursed approximately $3 million of that, according Moore and the Lorain County Bar Association. Austen said each county has the authority to decide how they provide attorneys to indigent clients. All Ohio counties rely either entirely, like Lorain County does, or partially on court-appointed indigent counsel she said. Approximately 30 Ohio counties have countywide public defender's offices staffed by government employees. Another 10 have contracts with the OPD, nine contract with a nonprofit corporation and others have hybrid or specialized systems. Reimbursement plans vary, whether counties pay up front or are repaid at a less-than 100 percent rate. The OPD processes 140,000 indigent defense bills per year, Austen said. Delaware County north of Columbus was the most recent to go with a county public defender's office. Medina County, Austen said, went the opposite direction and is the only county in the last 10 years to move to court-appointed counsel only. She recommended the Commissioners have discussions with their local bar association and judges "to see what the needs are in local indigent defense." Several attorneys visited Tuesday's board meeting to speak about the matter. Lorain County Bar Association President Brandon Oliver, whose organization represents 275 member attorneys, said the organization was "a little taken aback" when it heard the issue was being brought up again and wanted to be involved in any further discussions about it. His membership has a "a very vested interest" in the matter, with more than 70 attorneys who do indigent defense in criminal, juvenile and domestic relations courts. Bar association members "provide taxpayers a very good service for minimal cost," Oliver said. "We believe as an association that not only is the cost a value to taxpayers but the representation is of the highest quality," he said. Attorney Zack Simonoff, longtime chairman of the bar association's Criminal Law section, said appointed counsel will always be needed in situations where there are conflicts of interest, because of caseload limits or by virtue of the sheer number of cases filed each year. For parity with the county and local city prosecutor's offices, a county public defender would need at least 20 attorneys for felony cases alone in Common Pleas Court plus more in Juvenile and Domestic Relations courts and the five municipal courts in the county. "Look at it and look at the cost," he told commissioners. "The way we're doing it makes a lot of sense." Commissioner Jeff Riddell, a Republican, said the board would keep talking about the matter "until we collect enough information to make the best decision for the county." "We're at the very beginning of this conversation," he said. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.