A story (Herald, Oct. 21) stated that the Durango Public Defender’s Office has 11 defense attorneys compared to the 10 prosecutors in La Plata County. This information, originally provided by the local district attorney’s office to the La Plata County commissioners, is grossly misleading.
The Durango Public Defender’s Office does, in fact, have 11 lawyers, but our office handles all cases for the 6th Judicial District, which includes La Plata, Archuleta and San Juan counties and the 22nd Judicial District. Currently, seven lawyers provide representation for indigent clients in all the courtrooms in the 6th Judicial District and four lawyers provide representation for indigent clients in the 22nd Judicial District. By handling two judicial districts, our Durango office saves the state money by combining overhead and other administrative expenses.
The Office of the State Public Defender takes no position on the district attorney’s request for additional funding. Public Defender funding and staffing is based on an independent workload study commissioned at the state level. It is our preference to have no involvement in the budget matters of local DA offices. That said, it is clear that our criminal justice system demands adequate funding for the judicial, the prosecution and the defense functions. And we, as Durango-based public defenders, are proud to help protect all of the constitutional rights of our residents.
Justin Bogan, office head
Colorado State Public Defender
Durango
