Date: 01/13/2012

Final
Briefing by the Alternate Defense Counsel

COMMITTEE ON JOINT JUDICIARY

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
<none><none>





01:56 PM -- Briefing by the Alternate Defense Counsel

Lindy Frolich and Bert Nieslanik, representing the Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel (OADC), came to the table and provided their strategic plan to the committee (Attachment D). Ms. Frolich discussed compensation rates for OADC attorneys. The OADC has been attempting to limit the number of hours spent on each case as a budget-cutting measure. This attempt has been successful over the past few years. Ms. Frolich also talked about training, cost-effective research tools and resources, and the evaluation, monitoring, and auditing of contractors on an ongoing basis.

JtJud0113AttachD.pdf

02:04 PM

Ms. Frolich responded to questions from the committee about the availability of qualified attorneys willing to contract with the OADC for the rate paid by the office. She spoke about the difficulty in making a comparison between the salaries of OADC attorneys and district attorneys. She indicated that caseloads over the last few years were decreasing until approximately six months ago. At that point, caseloads began trending upwards, but Ms. Frolich did not provide a specific reason for the trend. She discussed some cost-savings measures she has implemented, including scanning court and discovery documents and in-house evaluation of cases prior to assigning them to a contract attorney. She listed the top ten things the OADC has done to cut costs and the top ten things that could be done to save more money.


02:17 PM

Ms. Nieslanik discussed an assistance grant Mesa County received to map the entire criminal justice system in the county to see how decisions are made. A major goal of the program is to divert low-risk offenders out of the criminal justice system using evidence-based decision-making. She spoke about the successes of the grant program and responded to questions from the committee.


02:23 PM

Ms. Frolich responded to questions about the reduction in attorney hours in cases. She does not encourage attorneys to plea bargain cases rather than taking them to trial. Representative Lee commended Ms. Frolich on the work of the OADC. Representative Gardner announced that the House Judiciary Committee liaisons to the OADC are Representatives Ryden and Waller.


02:28 PM

The committee adjourned.