The budgeted amount for fiscal year 2008/09 in General Fund Budget Unit 0248 – Conflict Defense Services was insufficient to cover the rapidly escalating costs for mandated conflict defense services, necessitating a transfer of approprations from the County's Contingency Reserve to augment the Conflict Defense budget. The transfer will effect a reduction in the Contingency Reserve of $1,300,000.
Since 1983, the County has contracted with the Contra Costa County Bar Association for the provision of conflict defense services as a lower-cost alternative to the old system of court-appointed counsel. Subsequently, in FY 1991/92, the Public Defender created an Alternate Defender’s Office to handle conflict cases. The cases referred to the Bar Association generally represent multiple co-defendant cases in which the Alternate Defender’s Office can represent only one co-defendant.
The contract with the Bar Association for conflict defense services includes only the costs associated with representing criminal and delinquency cases referred to the Bar Association through a written affidavit conflict by the Public Defender and the Alternate Defender, and the costs to provide legal services in juvenile immigration cases. This fiscal year is the first since 1983 that the Bar contract will not provide for representation in juvenile dependency cases, due to the Superior Court's decision to terminate services provided by the County for juvenile dependency cases.
Following is a history of actual conflict defense Bar referrals and costs:
| Fiscal Year |
Cost |
Non-Capital Homicides |
Capital Homicides |
| 2003/04: |
$1,550,989 |
21 |
1 |
| 2004/05: |
$1,800,505 |
25 |
1 |
| 2005/06: |
$2,025,534 |
24 |
1 |
| 2006/07: |
$2,075,778 |
29 |
4 |
| 2007/08: |
$3,403,771 |
45 |
12 |
| 2008/09 Proj |
$3,975,000 |
56 |
11 |
| As of 2/09 |
$2,960,633 |
46 |
0 |
Payment of criminal conflict attorney services is a mandated County cost. If the recommended action is not approved, the contract with the Bar Association will terminate and the County will be unable to fulfill its mandated obligations. The appointment and payment of private attorneys for conflict cases that cannot be handled by the Alternate Defender’s Office will revert to the court-appointed method used prior to the Bar Association contract, which has been shown to be less economical. All active and new criminal and delinquency conflict cases will be referred to the courts for appointment of defense counsel. The County will continue to be obligated to pay the Bar for cases previously assigned to the Bar and still in progress, as stipulated in our contract.