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The Texas Weighted Caseload Study

The Texas Weighted Caseload Study. Developing Evidence-Based Caseload Guidelines for Effective Court-Appointed Representation.

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The Texas Weighted Caseload Study

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  1. The Texas Weighted Caseload Study Developing Evidence-Based Caseload Guidelines for Effective Court-Appointed Representation

  2. The mission of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission is to provide financial and technical support to counties to develop and maintain quality, cost-effective indigent defense systems that meet the needs of local communities and the requirements of the Constitution and state law.

  3. Chair: The Honorable Sharon Keller, Presiding Judge, Court of Criminal AppealsVice Chair: The Honorable Olen UnderwoodExecutive Director: Mr. James D. Bethke Ex Officio Members: • Honorable Roberto Alonzo • Honorable Nathan L. Hecht • Honorable Abel Herrero • Honorable Sherry Radack • Honorable Linda Rodriguez • Honorable Royce West • Honorable John Whitmire Members Appointed by Governor: • Honorable Jon Burrows • Mr. Don Hase • Mr. Anthony Odiorne • Honorable B. Glen Whitley

  4. House Bill 1318 Not later than January 1, 2012, the Texas Indigent Defense Commission shall conduct and publish a study for the purpose of determining guidelines for establishing a maximum allowable caseload for a criminal defense attorney that… allows the attorney to give each indigent defendant the time and effort necessary to ensure effective representation.

  5. Indigent Defense in Texas • 48th in per-capita spending • Counties pay over 85% of cost • Assigned counsel programs primary delivery system

  6. Indigent Defense in Texas • How widespread is the problem? • Harris County, 2012: • Top 10% averaged 632 appointments • 32 attorneys received more than 400 cases • One attorney took 952 cases • 45% of felony cases were represented by attorneys with caseloads >150 clients

  7. Indigent Defense in Texas A lawyer with an “S” on his chest for Superman couldn’t represent these people. - Professor Norman Lefstein

  8. Public Policy Research InstituteTexas A&M University • Established by the Legislature in 1984 • Land grant philosophy -- Portal for policymakers to access university expertise • Original data collection; Survey research; Large database analysis; Qualitative methods • 30-40 projects/year; 15 state agency partners • Criminal justice, Education, Public health, Social services, Substance abuse

  9. Public Policy Research Institute Impacts of the FDA on Texas Counties Public Defender Feasibility Study Mental Health Public Defender Direct Electronic Filing in Criminal Cases Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases Texas Weighted Caseload Study

  10. TIDC Websites • Public Indigent Defense Data • County Reporting Website • Innocence Project Reporting Website

  11. Tasks and Timeline

  12. Tasks and Timeline

  13. Essential Partners • Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association • State Bar of Texas • National Authorities • Public Defenders • Criminal Defense Attorneys

  14. Tasks and Timeline

  15. Tasks and Timeline

  16. http://texaswcl.tamu.edu

  17. Recruit Attorneys Largest Counties in each Administrative Judicial Region

  18. Recruit Attorneys Largest Counties in each Administrative Judicial Region Strategy: Local TCDLA/ Criminal Defense Bar Associations

  19. Recruit Attorneys All Trial-Level Public Defender Offices

  20. Recruit Attorneys All Trial-Level Public Defender Offices Strategy: Direct Appeal to Chiefs

  21. Recruit Attorneys 39 Counties with Population > 100,000

  22. Recruit Attorneys 39 Counties with Population > 100,000 Strategy: Telephone Recruitment

  23. Recruit Attorneys • Why telephone recruitment? • Balanced attorney enrollment

  24. Recruit Attorneys Potential Sampling Frame

  25. Recruit Attorneys • Why telephone recruitment? • Diverse counties • Do indigent defense policies impact attorney time and case quality?

  26. Recruit Attorneys • Why telephone recruitment? • Assertive outreach and marketing • Increased sample size

  27. Recruit Attorneys More participating attorneys  Larger sample of cases  More informative results re: effects of… • Attorney Characteristics • (e.g., experience or special qualifications) • Client Characteristics • (e.g., juvenile, criminal history, mental health concerns) • Case Factors • (e.g., client in custody, probation concerns, specialty court) • Defense Tactics • (e.g., use of experts, use of investigators)

  28. Recruit Attorneys + Preliminary Approval for CLEs! Incentives…

  29. Tasks and Timeline

  30. Collect Attorney Time Data • Webinar training • Custom defenderData software by Justice Works • Attorneys keep time for 12 weeks

  31. Collect Attorney Time Data

  32. Collect Attorney Time Data

  33. Collect Attorney Time Data

  34. Collect Attorney Time Data

  35. Collect Attorney Time Data

  36. Collect Attorney Time Data

  37. Collect Attorney Time Data

  38. Collect Attorney Time Data

  39. Tasks and Timeline

  40. Hypothetical Attorney Time Data

  41. Hypothetical Attorney Time Data

  42. Hypothetical Attorney Time Data

  43. Hypothetical Attorney Time Data

  44. Hypothetical Attorney Time Data

  45. Hypothetical Attorney Time Data

  46. Tasks and Timeline

  47. “Sufficiency of Time” Survey • Do attorneys feel they have sufficient time for essential activities and functions? • Where is practice acceptable? • Where is more time needed?

  48. Tasks and Timeline

  49. Delphi Process • Problems that cannot be precisely measured • Collective expert judgments • Questionnaires + Opinion Feedback

  50. Tasks and Timeline

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