Overworked PD's Office Is Asking Judge to Take 45 Cases Off Their Docket
Public defenders throughout Minnesota are struggling with hefty caseloads, slowing down the justice system and potentially failing their clients because they are stretched too thin.
But the situation is particularly bad in the 3rd Judicial District, where Chief Public Defender Karen Duncan today plans to ask a Steele County judge to remove 45 cases from her office’s docket. If she wins the desired order, it would be a first for the state, reports a lengthy article in the Pioneer Press.
“It’s simply that we don’t have anybody we can assign,” said Duncan. “I find people sleeping on the couch of our Owatonna office because they’ve worked all night, and they’re catching a nap before court. … Everyone recognizes we’ve got a bad situation here.”
For more details about the measures to which public defenders are being driven, read the full article.
