U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) on May 31 offered a bipartisan bill that would address the nation’s current shortage of public defenders by creating a $250 million grant program to help fund public defense and limit workloads for full-time public defenders.
“Access to counsel is a fundamental right for all Americans,” Rep. Armstrong said on Monday. “I spent 10 years as a criminal defense attorney and served as a state and federal public defender. I saw firsthand that our country has a chronic shortage of public defenders. Those we do have are overworked and underpaid, which increases burnout, reduces effectiveness, and ultimately hurts the justice system and public safety.
“This bill takes a step toward increasing public defense and ensuring access to representation,” said the congressman. “It’s the right thing to do.”
Rep. Armstrong signed on as the lead original cosponsor of the Ensuring Quality Access to Legal (EQUAL) Defense Act of 2023, H.R. 3758, with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR). The bill also would establish pay parity between public defenders and prosecutors within five years, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
Additionally, H.R. 3758 would provide $5 million for non-profit and government organizations for comprehensive training for public defenders and reauthorize the John R. Justice student loan program to increase the program’s overall authorization amount from $25 million to $75 million, and increase per borrower repayment limits, the summary says.
The measure also would require the collection of data on public defender workloads, including the number of hours worked per month and the percentage of hours worked per month on a range of tasks, and require Byrne-JAG recipients to provide data on the extent to which the state is providing public defenders for indigent people in the criminal justice system, states the summary.
“The current public defender shortage is a threat to our criminal justice system and the rights of defendants,” said Rep. Bonamici. “I’m grateful to work with my colleagues to introduce the bipartisan EQUAL Defense Act to hire more public defenders, improve public safety, and make our justice system more equitable.”
H.R. 3758 is supported by the National Legal Aid & Defender Association, the American Bar Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the National Association for Public Defense, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, among other organizations.
U.S. Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) are leading similar legislation in their chamber, according to Rep. Armstrong’s office.