Because of their importance to managing an appellate defender office, caseload standards are presented here in a separate category.
Commentary. Two types of standards are included here¾those with and those without specific numerical recommendations. The NLADA standards call for development and use of weighted caseloads but do not specify numbers. The four state standards do provide specific numerical guidelines. The Indiana standards are significant in distinguishing between attorneys with and without support staff. See also, Illinois Office of the State Appellate Defender, Employee Manual, setting minimum work standards at 24 high-quality briefs per year and providing weighted value for different types of briefs. In contrast, the guidelines for the appeal unit of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (Massachusetts) restrict the total number of briefs to be handled by the unit at any one time to be no more than five times the number of attorneys in the unit. See also, Michigan's Appellate Defender Act, MCL 780.716 §6(c), stating, "The Appellate Defender shall: (c) accept only that number of assignments and maintain a caseload which will insure quality criminal defense appellate services with the funds appropriated by the state."
NLADA Standards and Evaluation Design for Appellate Defender Offices
Standard I. Criteria for Assuring the Quality of Legal Representation
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F. Caseload
1. In order to assure that effective representation is being provided by the appellate office and that adequate information is provided the funding source upon which to base an appropriate budget, it is essential that all appellate defender units develop caseload standards which accurately reflect the amount of casework which can be done by existing or contemplated staff.
2. The caseload for each particular jurisdiction should refer to national standards based on time records developed by each individual office based upon the specific nature of the cases handled by that unit.
3. It is essential that accurate records be kept for a period of time, to determine the actual time necessitated by a wide variety of cases handled by the appellate defender in each jurisdiction, including death penalty cases, lengthy or complex cases, cases which do not involve a formal appeal to the appellate court, and other types of varied cases.
4. The appellate defender shall have clearly articulated policies to prevent the office from exceeding its caseload standards. Such policies should be discussed in advance with the funding authority and the appointing courts to ensure no misunderstanding regarding the obligations of the appellate defender. Such caseload standards and procedures should be reduced to writing regarding excessive caseload.
G. Staffing
1. In order to ensure quality representation and to adequately support requests for staffing and funding, each appellate unit shall develop staffing ratios related to the caseload and number of attorneys in the office.
2. Prior to the creation of any appellate unit, or as soon thereafter as possible, a clearly articulated caseload standard staffing ratio and caseload weighting system should be developed¾and publicly stated¾with written plans for alternative methods of providing representation in the event those standards are exceeded.
H. Case Weighting and Staffing Ratios
1. An appellate defender office or division shall annually complete twenty-two work-units for each full-time attorney or the equivalent. In jurisdictions which require an abridgement of the testimony by the appellant, the annual workload shall be twenty (20) work-units. The number of work-units shall be determined as follows:
a. A brief-in-chief or Anders brief filed in a case in which the court transcripts are 500 pages or less shall be one work-unit, except as otherwise provided herein.
b. In cases in which the defendant has not been sentenced to death, one additional work-unit shall be added for each additional 500 pages of court transcript.
c. In cases in which the defendant has been sentenced to death, the preparation of the brief shall constitute ten (10) work units and the procedures specified in subparagraphs f, g, h, and i shall constitute ten times the work-units specified in those subparagraphs.
d. A brief involving only the validity of a guilty plea or only the propriety of a sentence…shall constitute one-half work unit.
e. A case which is closed by the appellate unit with the submission of neither a brief nor postconviction motion shall constitute between one-quarter and one-half work-units, depending on the length of the record reviewed and work done on the case.
f. A case which is closed by the appellate unit after the disposition of a postconviction motion or writ but without the submission of an appellate-court brief shall constitute between one-half and one work-unit depending on the length of the record reviewed, the nature of the postconviction hearing, and whether a trial court brief was submitted.
g. A case in which an evidentiary postconviction hearing is conducted by the appellate unit and in which an appellate court brief is submitted shall constitute between one and one-half to two work-units.
h. The preparation of a reply brief or a petition for review or certiorari in a state court shall be…one-quarter work-unit. A petition for a writ of certiorari filed in the Supreme Court of the United States shall be one-half work-unit.
Georgia Indigent Defense Council, Guidelines for the Operation of Local Indigent Defense Programs
Standard 6. Caseload Control in Local Programs
6.1 Caseload Control in Programs
The local committee and the program's attorneys should prevent caseloads, by reason of their excessive size, from interfering with the rendering of quality representation or leading to the breach of professional obligations, using as a guide the "Standards for Providing Defense Services" of the American Bar Association.
With regards to programs employing contract defenders and/or public defenders, the local committee shall use the American Bar Association's Standard Three "Caseload Limits and Types of Cases" as a guide in reviewing its caseload. The caseload of contract defenders and public defenders should allow each lawyer to give each client the time and effort necessary to ensure effective representation. Caseload limits should be determined by the number and type of cases being accepted, the local prosecutor's charging and plea bargaining practices, the court's propensity for accepting negotiated or non-negotiated pleas, and court calendar controls.
It is recommend that the caseload of a full-time public defender shall not exceed the following:
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25 Appeals to appellate court hearing a case on the record and briefs per attorney per year.
Indiana Public Defender Commission, Standards for Indigent Defense Services in Non-Capital Cases
Standard J. Caseloads of Counsel
The comprehensive plan shall insure that all counsel appointed under the plan are not assigned caseloads which, by reason of their excessive size, interfere with the rendering of quality representation or lead to the breach of professional obligations. In determining whether the caseloads are excessive, the following caseload guidelines are recommended.
1. Caseloads for Public Defenders Without Adequate Support Staff. Salaried or contractual public defenders in a county public defender office that does not have support staff consistent with Table 2 should generally not be assigned more than the number of cases in Table 1 in any one category in a 12-month period. The categories in Table 1 should be considered in the disjunctive. Thus, if a public defender is assigned cases from more than one category, the percentage of the maximum caseload for each category should be assessed and the combined total should generally not exceed 100%.
Table 1
Type of Case Full Time Part Time (50%) APPEAL 20 10 2. Caseloads for Public Defenders With Adequate Support Staff. Salaried or contractual public defenders in a county public defender office with support staff consistent with Table 2 should generally not be assigned more than the number of cases in Table 3 in any one category in a 12-month period. The categories in Table 3 should be considered in the disjunctive. Thus, if a public defender is assigned cases from more than one category, the percentage of the maximum caseload for each category should be assessed and the combined total should generally not exceed 100%.
Table 2
Law Clerk - Appeal One for every two attorneys Table 3
Type of Case Full Time Part Time (50%) APPEAL 25 12 Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy, Standards for Indigent Defense Services in Capital and Non-Capital Cases
Standard 3(2)(c)
2. Recommended Caseload Standards
The Commission recognizes that the cases it will accept will not likely fall into the general caseload statistical categories which compare the percentage of cases in which a plea is entered to the percentage of cases which go to trial. It is expected that the commission's cases will be more likely to go to trial, compared to a normal caseload. This will reduce the number of cases each litigation attorney can handle. In addition, the Commission also contemplates that travel, having to cover the entire state, causes a reduction in the total caseload of the litigation attorneys. It is also assumed that the cases themselves will be more complex since the commission will be handling serious felonies with sizeable records. This too will reduce the normal caseload. These assumptions also hold true for the appellate attorneys. The more complex the cases and the larger the record, fewer appeals can be handled by the appellate attorneys. Therefore, the following yearly caseload standards, per attorney, are recommended, with the understanding that the Commission will be monitoring these standards very carefully over the next year, since there is no history to rely upon, making them subject to change:
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c. Appellate grant attorney--40 non-capital appeals per year.
Washington Defender Association, Standards for Public Defense Services
Standard Three. Caseload Limits and Types of Cases
The contract or other employment agreement shall specify the types of cases for which representation shall be provided and the maximum number of cases which each attorney shall be expected to handle. The caseload of public defense attorneys should allow each lawyer to give each client the time and effort necessary to ensure effective representation. Neither defender organizations, county offices, contract attorneys nor assigned counsel should accept workloads that, by reason of their excessive size, interfere with the rendering of quality representation.
The caseload of a full-time public defense attorney or assigned counsel shall not exceed the following:
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25 Appeals to appellate court hearing a case on the record and briefs per attorney per year.