Chief Public Defender to increase hiring efforts

Indianapolis, Indiana — According to Marion County Chief Public Defender Bob Hill, a combination of staff shortages and case backlogs is causing him to increase hiring efforts.

Hill used a federal grant to hire 8 attorneys on a contract basis that are handling high-profile cases.

Hill also raised the starting pay for new lawyers from $53,000 to $60,000. “I am convinced our attorneys are going to give everyone the best representation they can get,” Hill said.

According to Hill, it’s been difficult for his office to retain attorneys, much less, hire new ones. Many seek higher pay and lighter workloads in surrounding counties. “You know as well as I do, when you lose skilled, trained people, it costs you money. You have to go through and train people,” Hill said.

During the height of the Coronavirus pandemic Jury trials came to a virtual standstill, adding to the caseload.

According to Hill, the public defender’s office is not below the state’s minimum standard for caseload, to the attorney, to case ratio. Cases are taking longer to adjudicate because his office isn’t fully staffed, which could cause a domino effect. “That will cause court backlogs, it will cause backlogs in the jail, and jail overcrowding, so all parts of the system,” Hill said.

IUPUI’S McKinney School Of Law reported that of its 2021 graduating class, 10 graduates went on to be public defenders, while 22 took jobs at prosecutors’ offices in Indiana and beyond.

Hill is working on ways to make his office competitive with other agencies. “We’ve considered trying a work from home schedule that could make things more palatable. A lot of the attorneys don’t want to do that, but some attorneys do,” Hill said.

Hill added the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office is also experiencing a shortage in attorneys.