The six major public defender groups in New York City that provide free representation in criminal and civil court to New Yorkers have requested a $425 million funding bump from the city council, Chris Sommerfeldt reports for the New York Daily News.
The groups are facing a major staffing crisis. The groups, along with appellate defender groups and some private practices, currently receive roughly $600 million from the city each year.
“We are meeting our contractual obligations to provide representation, but the question isn’t if intake is falling through the cracks,” Stan German, a criminal defense attorney with the New York County Defender Services, told the Daily News. “The question is: What does quality representation look like? How can you provide quality representation under those circumstances? Ultimately, quality representation is what suffers.”