order to understand the reliability of the evidence offered against their clients. Attorneys also need to understand sen- tencing options, including, for example, what is involved in domestic violence treatment, to be able to advise and ad- vocate effectively for their clients. Most of the survey respondents said that they have training appropriate to their practice, and 76 percent said that they have funding for it. Some defenders noted, however, that training was superficial or minimal. For example, 31 per- cent had no training on immigration issues. In some jurisdictions, training, particularly training relevant for misdemeanor courts, remains elusive. One South Car- olina attorney wrote that there was no training for misde- meanor practice, saying, “This area of training is completely ignored by the state bar and the state indigent defense sys- tem[, although t]here are some private DUI seminars.” In Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, the defender pro- vides mentoring in the first few months, but within five months attorneys are doing felonies as well as misde- meanors. One of the supervisors said that “within six months our lawyers are seasoned.”
is informal. One former Florida public defender noted that, officially, there were two senior attorneys assigned to supervise the approximately 30 misdemeanor attor- neys in the office. However, the supervising attorneys had active felony caseloads. If a misdemeanor lawyer wanted assistance, he or she had to seek out a senior at- torney and ask for assistance. She noted that, when one did this, the attorneys were happy to help when they could. When asked about a supervisor coming to court with her, the defender said, “Occasionally you could get a senior public defender to come with you if you needed to pressure the prosecutor to offer a plea.” Recommendations — Inexperienced Counsel in Misdemeanor Courts 1. Public defense attorneys should be required to attend training on trial skills, substantive and procedural laws of the jurisdiction, and collateral consequences before represent- ing clients in misdemeanor court. There- after, regular training on topics relevant to the practice area should be required on an ongoing basis. Misdemeanor practice cannot itself be considered train- ing. Defense attorneys must receive training prior to tak- ing on misdemeanor cases. National standards require that “defender organizations … provide training oppor- tunities that insure the delivery of zealous and quality representation to clients.” 194 In an institutional defender office, the office should provide an extensive training program that covers the practices and procedures in the specific jurisdiction, as well as basic pre- trial and trial skills, before the attorney is ever sent to a courtroom alone. In assigned counsel and contract pro- grams, trainings should be required before a defense attor- ney can join the misdemeanor assigned counsel list or receive a contract. A number of defender offices have exceptional training pro- grams. In Philadelphia, for example, all new attorneys com- plete a three-week training program before ever representing a client. Topics covered include substantive law topics such as search and seizure law, drug statutes, the sentencing scheme, identification law, procedural law top- ics including evidence, discovery and motions practice, and trial advocacy skills such as interviewing techniques and direct and cross-examination. 195 After the training, a senior lawyer goes to court with the new attorney for a week. Thereafter, lawyers attend weekly training and consultation sessions for the remainder of the first year. Similarly, in Kentucky, the Department of Public Advo- cacy conducts three week-long training programs that all attorneys who join the public advocate’s office must com- plete. For attorneys just graduating from law school, the
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“[There are] simply too many cases for inexperienced lawyers to provide effective assistance.” — A Colorado lawyer who stated that the caseload of the local defenders did not allow effective representation.
Lack of Supervision As in other professions, before undertaking something in- dependently, lawyers should be supervised. A homeowner would not allow a plumber to remove the water heater if he had never done it before and there was no experienced plumber around to make sure he did it correctly. Supervi- sion is critical to ensuring that attorneys just out of law school, new to the jurisdiction, or just starting to practice criminal law, do not make a mistake. For this reason, the American Bar Association’s Ten Principles of a Public De- fense Delivery System require defense counsel to be “su- pervised and systematically reviewed for quality and efficiency.” Supervision of misdemeanor defenders is sorely lack- ing, and, often, performance reviews are non-existent. Many defenders report that supervision in their offices
Minor Crimes, Massive Waste
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