Public Defenseless 06: How the Louisiana Public Defenders are Paid to Lose w/Derwyn Bunton & Trisha Ward
Louisiana holds one of the highest incarceration rates in the world.
And with a lack of funding, public defenders can only handle 21% of open cases at a time.
In today's episode, I speak to two impressive guests: Derwyn Bunton, Chief Public Defender of Orleans Public Defenders, and Trisha Ward, Chief Public Defender of Evangeline Parish.
Together, Derwyn and Trisha walk us through the complexities of the Louisiana indigent defense system and how its fee-based model leads to problems.
Derwyn and Trisha are truly beacons of strength in an overwhelming system.
Key Topics and Takeaways:
An overview of Louisiana's user pay system of justice [4:49]
The reality of fees in Louisiana [9:31]
The difficulties that Trish faces at a rural level [14:57]
How hurricanes affect public defense in Louisiana [17:27]
Pre-trial confinement in Louisiana & why it's so long [20:07]
The types of people who go through the Louisiana indigent system [29:01]
Why the cases have piled up so high [38:42]
The importance of investigators [41:45]
Guests:
Derwyn Bunton, Chief Public Defender of Orleans Public Defenders
Trisha Ward, Chief Public Defender of Evangeline Parish
Resources:
Orleans Public Defenders
Evangeline Parish Public Defenders
Memorable Quotes:
"Public defenders in Louisiana are paid to lose. Structurally paid to lose. This is an incentive to plead because that's where the funding comes from." [11:20, Derwin]
"What we need to do is let folks know that public define is a part of our constitution, but it's also part of our political culture and heritage as a country." [12:03, Derwin]
"It's very easy to have your kids permanently removed and your rights terminated. So I think that may be the most egregious thing at the end." [27:08, Trisha]
"We can also lower the amount of people who are going through the system in general because we are getting to the roots of criminality, that I think is so important for people to understand." [37:35, Hunter]
"We are poorly, very poorly funded. And I'm having to just lay the basic groundwork right now, and call that me moving in a client-centered direction, which I do think it is, but there are many many challenges ahead because of the way that our systems are funded." [40:28, Trisha]
"If we have investigations handled properly, the courts don't have to deal with cases where innocence is obvious. You don't need a bad actor to have somebody wrongfully accused of a crime." [46:11, Hunter]
"I don't see any true, true improvement in these rural districts until there is a better state system or funding mechanism." [49:13, Trisha]
"Our criminal legal system has gotten so big, it impacts so many different parts of our lives, that we just need to bring it back to what it ought to be in my opinion, which is focused on community." [50:36, Derwin]