Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said Tuesday the local criminal justice system is in a crisis situation with a lack of defense attorneys.   The system has been working to deal with a backlog of cases caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a county commission work session, Bennett said there is a lack of qualified defense attorneys who are willing and able to take cases pending before the court.  He said the public defender’s office has reached a maximum level of cases, along with an office funded by the Board of Indigent Defense Services that provides counsel if the public defender’s office has a conflict.    Bennett said there is a need for attorneys to be on an appointments list to take some of these cases.

Money is a key issue, and Bennett said the Board of Indigent Defense Services is willing to negotiate compensation for local attorneys, but it has budget limits.  He said he has sent a letter to state lawmakers on that issue.

Bennett said the system cannot function without enough prosecutors, judges and defense attorneys.   He said at some point, a state statute on ineffective counsel will come into play.   A defendant could have his conviction overturned if he shows that he had ineffective representation with his attorney handling too many cases.

Bennett told commissioners, “You’re not going to work that backlog down unless I have more bodies to throw at this: defense attorneys, prosecutors, everybody.  The only other way around this is just simply not file cases and say certain cases are just not going to make it.   There’s going to be no justice for those victims.”

Bennett suggested that funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act could be used to help with the situation and bring more attorneys to help with the backlog.   County officials are looking into that issue to see if ARPA funding could be provided.