Report: Nevada’s poor lack defense in court

Jace Radke

Thursday, Jan. 11, 2001 | 11:20 a.m.

A federally funded study by a nationally known research group has found that there are systematic problems with how Nevada defends its poor in the courtroom.

The report, put together by the Spangenberg Group to study the indigent defense system in Nevada, found that there is a lack of state oversight for defense standards and that public defenders rarely take cases to trial.

Between 4 and 7 percent of all indigent defense cases go to trial in large urban jurisdictions nationwide, but in Clark County less than 0.6 percent go to trial, according to the report. In 1999 public defenders in Clark County handled over 28,898 adult cases, with only 156 going to trial.

The 107-page report was discussed at Wednesday's meeting of the Implementation Committee for the Elimination of Racial, Economic and Gender Bias in the Justice System, the group that requested the study.

Committee Executive Director Elgin Simpson said the study's conclusions do not blame public defenders, but point to problems that must be addressed.

"You cannot read this report and indict the public defenders' offices in the state," Simpson said.

"What this report says is that there might be something wrong with the way the system is functioning. The Clark County Commission, Washoe County Commission, the governor and the state need to look at what these people are doing. They need to go in and look at the management structure in each area."

Fellow committee member Michael Pescetta, an assistant federal public defender, agreed with Simpson that the report doesn't point the finger at public defenders.

"At this point I see this report as a first shot at looking at how defense is practiced statewide," Pescetta said.

Much of the report focuses on rural Nevada counties and the fact that there is no state system for indigent defense.

"Indigent citizens of Nevada are not afforded equal justice before the courts of the state because the state public defender system is in crisis," according to the report.

State Public Defender Steven McGuire, who oversees indigent defense in seven rural counties and areas, said "crisis" may be too strong a word to describe his office.

"I don't think we're in a crisis where we're going to have to stop taking cases in the next few weeks or months," McGuire said.

"The crisis is that our system is fundamentally unstable. I think my office is sometimes looked to to provide some structure for the state on this, because that's what our name implies.

"But with only 12 attorneys scattered out in these rural counties, we can't really provide that unified voice."

Simpson believes that unified voice can come in the form of a new statewide indigent defense commission.

"In Indiana they've had a statewide commission for about 15 years, and everyone I've talked to says it's the ideal system," Simpson said.

"It provides training for the public defenders and oversees the entire process."

Simpson's committee will be looking at the Indiana model, and designated a committee to work through the report and pull out ideas that could be taken to the Legislature.

Training for public defenders could be something that the committee looks at trying to get the Legislature to implement.