Public Defender office warns of mounting caseloads and urges contractor pay pilot

New Mexico's Chief Public Defender Bennett Bauer and Public Defender Commission Chair Gina Maestas told the appropriations committee that workloads have risen sharply and that contractual rates for outside counsel are uncompetitive. Bauer said the agency must sometimes rely on contract attorneys for conflict representation and in rural offices that lack in‑house staff. "There is a 42% increase in the last 9 years," Maestas said, and noted the department's contractor count has fallen from roughly 140 to about 100.

The commission and the chief public defender urged lawmakers to fund a pilot project to pay contract counsel on an hourly basis — an approach used by the state's risk‑management civil panel — to make public defense work competitive and to reduce turnover. Bauer said a study the office prepared suggests an hourly pilot of about $150/hour would attract more contractors, but would raise the program cost substantially if rolled out statewide. The panel also asked for funding to cover transcription, training and other operating costs that have become increasingly necessary as caseloads climb.

Committee action: Members acknowledged rising charges on public defense budgets and asked that the public‑safety working group examine options for contractor pay, possible pilots, and metrics to track impact on caseload outcomes. The committee adopted LFC recommendations for the public defender budget and asked analysts to refine supplemental requests where necessary.

Why it matters: Adequate counsel for indigent defendants is a constitutionally mandated function; committee members signaled willingness to study a pilot but requested clear outcomes and budget scenarios before committing to wider recurring increases.