ACLU sues Missouri for $20M more for public defenders saying state 'violates' constitutional rights

The ACLU of Missouri filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing state officials of violating the constitution by underfunding public defenders for people facing charges who can't afford lawyers.

"This is a large portion of the population that can't afford legal representation. These are people who are working, supporting their families," said Gillian Wilcox, staff attorney with the ACLU of Missouri.

According to the ACLU, Missouri ranks 49th in the country in public defender funding with an average $355 per case. The lawsuit asks Missouri to budget $20,000,000 more each year for public defenders across the state.

"Stretched too thin"

"They currently have, I think, about 370 attorneys. They get 80,000 cases a year," Wilcox said. "They don't have time to file the appropriate motions in cases, they may not have time to argue to lower someone's bond."

The ACLU of Missouri says people sit in jail longer than they should as their cases are delayed because public defenders are stretched too thin to investigate evidence and interview witnesses.

"They're meeting with their clients maybe once every couple months for less than ten minutes leading up to a trial on some very serious charges," Wilcox said.

Governor accused

The lawsuit names Governor Eric Greitens as well as other state officials and accuses them of violating the constitutional right to an attorney.

Governor Greitens talked about the issue in his state of the state address in January.

"The constitution applies to every citizen. I believe in the Sixth Amendment which guarantees the right to a fair trial and adequate legal representation for all," Greitens said during the speech.

According to the state budget, Governor Greitens plans to cut $1,000,000 from public defenders in the 2018 fiscal year.

"We need an additional $20,000,000 a year for the public defender system to have enough resources to adequately provide representation," Wilcox told 41 Action News.

Click here for the 2018 Missouri state budget

We e-mailed and called Governor Greitens' office Thursday morning for a response, but we have not yet heard back.

The Missouri State Public Defender Director Michael Barrett did e-mail us back about the lawsuit:

I've done everything short of setting myself on fire to draw attention to the situation that the state has put us in. That poor persons in this state, including poor children, are being pushed through the criminal justice system, fined excessively, and deprived of their liberty, without receiving the benefit of an attorney who has the necessary time to look into their case. Despite their claims of support for liberty and against big government, the state has chosen to neglect an indigent defense system that ranks 49th in the U.S. while enthusiastically spending more than a $100 million in new money on incarcerating the very citizens who were deprived of their right to counsel.  

This issue has been studied countless times by numerous task forces, the American Bar Association, a national accounting firm, and the U.S. Department of Justice - all with the same conclusion - that the  public defender needs twice its number of attorneys to handle the more than 80,000 cases that it is constitutionally responsible for each year. The state has very few constitutional obligations, but it has instead focused on adding state parks, increasing salaries for judges, and forming committees and task forces to study ad nauseam what we already know. It's time for some leadership.