Utah County public defenders report sharp rise in caseloads and hours, cite national standards

Benjamin Young, representing the Utah County Public Defender Association, told the county commission on Sept. 13 that the office saw 2,817 cases assigned from Jan. 1 through June 30, 2023, and that extrapolating the hours required by case type produces a total of 50,219 hours to provide effective assistance of counsel for that period.

"Number of cases assigned in 2023 was 2,817," Young said during a quarterly presentation, adding that the 2022 Q1–Q2 total was 2,002. Young and staff said the increase is not only in volume but in case severity, which drives a disproportionate rise in time and expense.

Why it matters: presenters told commissioners that handling more and more complex cases has increased direct costs—experts, investigators, transcripts and appeals—beyond typical salary-driven expenses. The presenters credited a recent county budget adjustment, approved at the prior meeting, with helping the office meet immediate payroll and recruitment needs but urged continued attention to resourcing.

Presenters noted that national standards released by the American Bar Association and reported on by RAND use structured methods (a Delphi approach) to estimate hours required by case type. The presenters said they will prepare a packet comparing Utah County’s local workload estimates to the new national standards and that those materials will be shared with commissioners.

Comparisons and figures: the presenters provided a Q1–Q2 2022 comparison showing 2,002 assigned cases and an extrapolated 31,758 hours, and said the 2023 totals (2,817 cases; 50,219 hours) represent an increase of roughly 800 cases and about 20,000 additional extrapolated hours for the same period.

Budget context: the presentation included budget-versus-actual slides showing that the office’s budget includes both the county base allocation and funds from the Indigent Defense Commission (IDC) grant. Presenters said overhead remains near the stated target (about 10 percent), while program expenses tied directly to casework are the largest growing line items.

Next steps: presenters said they will (1) supply commissioners with a packet that maps local workload figures to the newly released national standards, (2) provide more detailed year-over-year breakdowns where available, and (3) meet with commissioners or staff for a deeper review of the data on request. The work session concluded without a formal policy vote.