Opinion: All of us pay the price for underfunding public defense

“I’ll plead guilty today just to get released today.”

Dennis James Brown, II, spoke these desperate words to a judge after three weeks inside of a Northampton, Pennsylvania jail cell.  When police arrested Dennis for driving without proof of insurance, he expected a judge would immediately release him. Dennis actually had insurance, he just misplaced the paperwork. All he needed was an attorney to clear things up. But Dennis couldn’t afford an attorney, and he was charged in a county that couldn’t afford to hire enough public defenders to handle all of its criminal cases. Dennis spent over two months behind bars, waiting for an attorney to fix an issue that could have been resolved in hours. 

As detailed in a recent ACLU lawsuit, Pennsylvania’s failure to provide enough funding for public defense has caused unnecessary suffering for Dennis and countless other citizens. That is why advocates and elected officials recently gathered in Harrisburg for a press conference to push for increased statewide funding for public defense. Last year, this advocacy resulted in Pennsylvania providing state funding for the first time ever, to the tune of  $7.5 million. While this funding was a long-overdue step in the right direction, at least $100 million over the next four years is needed to address Pennsylvania’s flawed system. 

According to a report from Spotlight PA, Pennsylvania currently ranks 45th nationally in total public defense funding, trailed only by states like Mississippi and Texas. The state’s current per capita public defense funding of $10.25 would need to nearly double to meet the national average of $19.67, which is still insufficient to support public defense.  

The lack of state funding means that the quality of people’s representation depends on the county where they are arrested. Counties like Northampton, which lack a robust tax base, cannot afford to fairly compensate or hire enough attorneys to handle the number of criminal cases charged effectively. The result of this gross underfunding is a shortage of attorneys for those who cannot afford counsel. A National Public Defense Workload Study found that 64 out of 67 Pennsylvania counties lacked enough public defenders to provide adequate representation. “Adequate,” of course, is the minimum standard guaranteed by the Constitution – we should be striving for exceptional or zealous representation.  

The problem is grim. Available attorneys are sometimes saddled with more than 300 cases, preventing them from giving sufficient time to each client. People who could have their cases resolved in 24 hours must wait, motions for release go unfiled and attorneys cannot thoroughly investigate the charges against their clients.

Without enough attorneys, clients make decisions grounded in desperation, not evidence. People who lack immediate access to an attorney are more inclined to plead guilty if it grants them release, regardless of whether they’re actually guilty. Dennis Brown’s experience is not an anomaly; in multiple Pennsylvania counties, more than 10% of defendants pled guilty without the benefit of counsel during 2022 and 2023, according to the ACLU-PA lawsuit. This egregious statistic illustrates the consequences of Pennsylvania’s attorney shortage; clients, some of whom are innocent or suffered constitutional violations, are coerced into making life-altering decisions without the guidance of an attorney. 

Overburdened attorneys are also more likely to commit costly errors, leading to wrongful convictions. Pennsylvania has the sixth-highest number of wrongful convictions in the nation, with many of these convictions partially due to mistakes made by attorneys. These convictions have cost Pennsylvanians thousands of years behind bars and taxpayers a small fortune. 

Like most things in the criminal justice system, the costs of wrongful convictions are disproportionately borne by people of color. According to a study by the National Registry of Exonerations, more than half the exonerated people in this country are Black. 

The communal harm caused by underfunding public defense also extends to victims. Criminal cases drag on longer than necessary, as overextended attorneys cannot hold timely, consistent meetings with clients. Convictions are reversed due to attorneys failing to provide effective representation. These avoidable delays force victims to wait longer than necessary for a resolution, prolonging what is often a painful experience. 

For decades, Pennsylvania ignored public defense to its detriment. The costs of this neglect have resulted in immeasurable human and financial costs that will take decades to undo. But all is not lost. With continuous, substantial investments in public defense, the legislature can begin to undo this damage and create a system that serves all Pennsylvanians.