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Public Defender System "In Crisis"

February 28, 2007 By

The Missouri Public Defender Commission plans a vote Friday on whether to refuse to accept any more cases.

The state system that provides legal defense for indigent clients says it is buried under cases. The average public defender in Missouri has 305 cases.

Former Missouri Bar President Doug Copeland of Kansas City has spent the last year and a half working on the problem and looking for solultions. He says the Public Defender system is "in crisis."

Copeland says Missouri is dead last in per-capita support among states that have statewide public defender systems. Among all states in which poor defendants get legal help, Missouri is 48th. Copeland says only Mississippi and Utah spend less per-capita on public defense.

He says the situation is as simple as workload-versus-resources and Missouri’s system is out of kilter. Copeland says the only solution is to provide more resources or to reduce workload.

Some of those looking at the problem suggest hiring private lawyers to handle many non-criminal cases as a way to reduce the workload. But Copeland thinks it would be cheaper just to hire more Public Defenders and more clerical staff because many Public Defnders are doing a lot of non-lawyer clerical things. He also says salaries need to be increased to end the 20 percent annual turnover among Missouri Public Defenders.

The legislature increased funding for the system by two-million dollars last year. Copeland says that was good but nowhere near adequate to solve the system’s problems.

 

download Bob Priddy’s story (copeva.mp3 :62)

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Trout Season Kicks-Off

February 28, 2007 By

It’s an old state tradition, but George Kromrey with the state Conservation Department says it still draws excitement. Tomorrow, March 1st marks the official openning of trout season. Bennet Springs State Park, Meramac Spring Park, Montauk State Park and Roaring River State Park will all be kicking off the season with an official openning ceremony. The children of the former hatchery manager will be ringing the bell at Benet Spring State Park and a man who’s been fishing at the Roaring River State Park park for over 75 years will be honored with the season’s first fishing tag for that park. Kromney says the Department expects to hand out about 8,000 tags across the state’s four trout parks. He says the state stocks the lakes with 3 trout per angler and about a 100 lunker-sized trout for openning day, with the average trout stock measuring about12 inches. 

AUDIO: Laura McNamara (:60 MP3)

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With:

Former Helias star honored

February 28, 2007 By

Helias High (Jefferson City) alum Jamaal Tatum is having a memorable senior season. A guard on Southern Illinois basketball team, Tatum has led the Salukis to a regular season conference title and a No. 11 ranking in the national poll, the highest ranking in school history.

Tatum was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Tuesday. He has guided the Salukis to a 25-5 record overall and 15-3 in the MVC. The Salukis are on an 11-game winning streak entering Friday’s MVS Tournament.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Blues topple Canucks

February 28, 2007 By

Playing without Keith Tkachuk and Bill Guerin, who were both recently traded, the Blues still earned a 3-1 win over Vancouver Tuesday night in St. Louis.

Doug Weight picked up the slack left by the team’s top two scorers. His second-period goal off a Petr Cajanek pass gave St. Louis a 2-1 lead. Weight struck again for his eight goal of the season on a power play with just over two minutes left to play in the period.

Curtis Sanford just barely missed the shutout stopping 25 of 26 shots, filling in for the injured Manny Legace.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Steelman Stops Payment on Settlement Check

February 28, 2007 By

State Treasurer Sarah Steelman has stopped payment on a $70,000 check that was to have quietly settled a sexual harassment complaint against former State Agriculture Director Fred Ferrell. Steelman also has made a Sunshine Law request for all documents related to the decision by the Missouri Department of Agriculture to issue the check.

Former Agriculture Department employee, Heather Elder, returned the check sent to her by the department to settle the matter privately. Her complaint became public after the state filed suit, saying she backed out of an agreement. Elder has claimed no agreement was ever reached. She says she never signed a written settlement.

Ferrell resigned Monday after Governor Blunt requested his resignation. Democrats have harshly criticized the governor for taking action only after the allegations against Ferrell became public. The State Highway Patrol reported to the governor on its investigation of the complaint nine months ago. This past weekend, a spokesman for Blunt stated that the governor was appalled to learn about the inappropriate behavior. Blunt moved to terminate Ferrell unless he complied with a series of disciplinary sanctions. Ferrell remained on employment probation until his resignation.

Steelman says a lot of questions need to be answered about the process the Department of Agriculture took in trying to settle the case out-of-court and out of the public’s eye. She says it discloses a lack of checks and balances. Steelman questions why the Agriculture Department drew on its own account rather than going through the legal defense fund in the Attorney General’s office.

"Sexual harassment is a very serious problem and when allegations occur they should be properly and thoroughly investigated and followed with swift and meaningful action. However, the attitude that women should not serve in positions of power should never be tolerated," says Steelman.

Steelman is the first Republican to air complaints publicly about the process.

 

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:60 MP3)

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,
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