Public Defender Service Attorneys Abandon Furlough Plans for Now

By D.C. Witness Staff - July 31, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Policy |

A planned furlough that would have sidelined attorneys working for the Public Defender Service (PDS) has been canceled but is not off the table, according to sources at the agency that represents indigent defendants.

Earlier this summer, officials at the DC Superior Court were concerned that a work stoppage was imminent based on fears the PDS would run out of money.  Initially, that date was thought to be June 3, then the furloughs were postponed to around July 15, according to Laura Hankins, general counsel for the PDS,  

However, the furloughs are now on hold. 

“For the moment the budget shortfall has been resolved so at least for the remainder of this fiscal year there will be no furloughs for PDS staff,” writes Janet Mitchell, special counsel for the PDS in an email to D.C. Witness.  

Respite from the furlough was also confirmed in an email to D.C. Witness by Rudy Acree, Jr., the agency’s deputy director

The fear was that if PDS attorneys were furloughed for one day a week it would cause delays in an already crowded criminal docket.  Because hearings pile up, Fridays are reserved for the overflow.  So effectively there are only four days available for trials, but a furlough would have reduced that number to just three days.

An online document dated Sept. 30, 2023, details a shutdown plan for the PDS based on a legal requirement for withholding services. “In a lapse of appropriations the agency must…release (or furlough) those staff not excepted by agency heads,” says the report.

The plan acknowledges that in spite of a work action, all staffers who provide legal services will be retained. 

“The courts cannot process criminal cases, and prosecuting authorities cannot perform the part of their law enforcement function that occurs in the courts, without court-appointed counsel for criminal defendants and juvenile respondents,” according to the eight page document. 

The shutdown plan, had it gone into effect, would have limited legal representations to “only those deemed necessary to complement ongoing law enforcement activities and for protection of life and property.”

Friction over a possible furlough was apparent in a hearing before DC Superior Court Robert Okun on May 23. The prosecution pushed the judge to proceed with a murder trial even if Public Defender Madalyn Harvey wouldn’t be present in the courtroom.  

In the prosecutor’s view PDS was suffering from a “self-inflicted wound” as the result of mismanaging their budget.  Harvey laid the blame on Congress for failing to appropriate enough money and that maligning PDS leadership was “unjustified.” 

While a furlough would be a dramatic tactic, PDS staffers have long complained they’re overworked and under budgeted.  According to the 2022 PDS annual report, the net cost of agency operations was $50,458,998 up from $ 45,670,974 the previous year.  PDS employs 275 attorneys and support personnel. 

The PDS pleaded its own case in the 2022 review, “Due to the increase in serious crime in the District, PDS has been inundated with cases, but — staying the course — the staff has also focused on the many underlying issues in the community that affect its clients.”

That included some 2900 trial matters, says the report. 

.