Editorial: Funding should reflect justice

Tuesday, May 22, 2007 | 7:57 a.m.

If the budgets for the Clark County offices of public defender and district attorney pass as they are proposed, we would understand if someone were to ask: Does justice even matter anymore?

Public Defender Phil Kohn requested 24 more attorneys and 22 more staff members. The proposed county budget funds just one new attorney for his office.

District Attorney David Roger requested 57 more attorneys and 49 more staff members. The proposed budget funds just one new attorney and just four more staffers.

There is a good reason why Kohn and Roger asked to expand their departments. Their total number of employees, including attorneys and support staff, is not even beginning to keep pace with the county's population growth.

Nor is it keeping pace with the growth of area police departments, which have been expanding since voters in 2004 approved hiring more officers by way of a sales tax increase. Metro alone has added 300 officers, whose arrests of lawbreakers have added significantly to the volume of court cases.

For both victims and alleged suspects to receive justice in Clark County criminal cases, additional prosecutors and public defenders - close to the numbers requested - should be funded.

The urgency of the situation was stressed by Kohn, who shared some numbers with Las Vegas Sun reporter Sam Skolnik. Those deputy public defenders who handle everything but murder cases each juggle an average of 364 felony cases and 145 misdemeanor cases at any given time, Kohn said.

Gary Peck, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said the caseloads are "completely out of control." Because of this, he said, "people's rights are being systematically violated."

There is some hope that the county will add more funding as the budget process proceeds. At the direction of the Clark County Commission, county staff will meet with Peck. We hope the end result will be more realistic budgets showing that justice in Clark County does indeed matter.