Utah County public defenders: caseload spike equals 43,000 hours of work; office asks for phased hires and funding

Benjamin Young, financial manager for the Utah County Public Defender Association, and Josh Esplin, the office's chief counsel, told the Utah County Commission on Nov. 8 that rising caseloads and increased use of experts have driven program costs higher and strained attorney capacity.

"The total number of hours that this particular amount of cases ... in the third quarter, would require under the study, nearly 43,000 hours of work," Esplin said. He said extrapolating the workload in the study would require "close to 86 attorneys" while the Public Defender's Office currently has 28 attorneys handling the appointed caseload.

The presenters said the office is operating below the workload benchmarks set out in the Indigent Defense Commission's study and the recently released American Bar Association standards. Benjamin Young said the office expects to cover 2023 program-related expenses from reserves, but is seeking additional FY2024 funding and a phased hiring plan to bring its staffing closer to the standards. "Something ... structured like a 10 is our ask," Esplin said, describing a multi-year, tiered increase in positions rather than immediate full staffing.

Commissioners asked about capital cases and life-without-parole (LWOP) work; Esplin said there were no LWOP cases in this quarter and that capital work requires particularly intensive attorney time and certification. Commissioners also pressed on timing: presenters said the IDC study was released in early September, and cited New Mexico's multi-year approach as one precedent for phased hiring.

The Public Defender team also listed specific funding requests in emailed materials, including parity adjustments to match county attorney pay (which they said helped retention), new positions, and a capital-case fund to cover two ongoing capital matters. Young said program and court-related expenses rose because of increased investigations and expert witness costs but that general administrative overhead remains below budget for 2023.

The commission did not take an immediate funding vote at the Nov. 8 meeting; presenters said they have individually briefed several commissioners and are scheduling follow-up budget conversations.