Prepared on behalf of: The American Bar Association Bar Information Program

Transcription

1 A Review of the Legal Aid and Defender Clinic at the University of Georgia Final Report July 1999 Prepared for: The University of Georgia Legal Aid and Defender Clinic Prepared by: Evelyn Pan Susan Murphy Marea L. Beeman Prepared on behalf of: The American Bar Association Bar Information Program

2 Copyright 1999 American Bar Association The views expressed herein, unless otherwise noted, have not been approved by the House of Delegates or the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association and, accordingly, should not be construed as representing the policy of the American Bar Association.

3 Table of Contents Page Chapter 1 Introduction...1 Chapter 2 Site Work...4 Chapter 3 Structure of the Legal Aid and Defender Clinic...6 Chapter 4 Management, Supervision and Training...19 Chapter 5 The Clinic and the University of Georgia Law School...22 Chapter 6 The Clinic s Intake and Indigency Screening Procedures...26 Chapter 7 Caseload Management...29 Chapter 8 Program Strengths and Areas for Improvement...35 Chapter 9 Conclusion...41

4 Chapter 1 Introduction The University of Georgia Legal Aid and Defender Clinic 1 provides representation to indigent persons charged with violating the criminal laws, indigent minors charged with violating juvenile delinquency laws, and to indigent parents facing deprivation of parental care or termination of parental rights charges in Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties in Georgia. The Clinic operates as part of the University of Georgia as a teaching law office, much like a teaching hospital. University of Georgia law students register for the Clinic as a course in their legal curriculum and receive academic credit following their participation in the program. The office is funded by Athens-Clarke County, Oconee County, and the University of Georgia. The Counties receive reimbursement for a share of their indigent defense expenditures from the Georgia Indigent Defense Council, which is Georgia s state-wide indigent defense organization. 2 The Clinic was originally created more than 30 years ago by the University as a joint project of the School of Law and the School of Social Work. In 1967, the Georgia Assembly passed the Legal Aid Agency Act, whose declared purpose was to encourage the establishment and operation of legal aid agencies by law schools in this state and the utilization of third-year law students in the legal aid agencies as a form of legal intern training and service that will provide competent and 1 Hereinafter referred to as the Clinic or Legal Aid. 2 The GIDC, first created by the Georgia General Assembly in 1979, provides technical and research assistance, clinical and training programs, and administrative support to local programs and attorneys who represent indigent defendants. It also receives state funds for distribution to counties which meet its guidelines for the operation of local indigent defense programs. Funding for indigent defense in Georgia is primarily a county responsibility. Since 1989, a relatively modest state appropriation has been made to GIDC, which then distributes the funds amongst those counties with indigent defense systems that comply with the organization's Guidelines for the Operation of Local Indigent Defense Programs. The guidelines concern areas such as competence and effectiveness of attorneys in local panel programs, early entry by counsel into a case, selection and conduct of panel attorneys, compensation of panel attorneys and determination of defendant financial eligibility, and require the establishment of a local indigent defense governing committee (IDC), made up of representatives appointed by the judiciary, the county and the local bar association(s). The GIDC grants awards to compliant counties using a formula which considers a county's population, indigent defense caseload and indigent defense expenditure. Indigent defense in Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties is funded primarily by the counties themselves. The GIDC provided $109, in FY 1998 to Athens-Clarke County, and $11, to Oconee County to help defray the cost of indigent defense. Additionally, the University of Georgia provides approximately $150,000 to $200,000 to the Clinic each year to help operate the program 1

5 professional legal counsel to indigent persons. Prior to passage of the act, there was no third-year practice rule in Georgia. Originally, the Clinic handled both civil and criminal matters. It evolved into a public defender practice largely because of more consistent funding for indigent defense than civil legal services. In late 1998, The Spangenberg Group (TSG) was contacted by the Director of the Legal Aid and Defender Clinic, Russell Gabriel, who wanted to obtain an expert review of the indigent defense program. The Spangenberg Group is a nationally recognized research and consulting firm specializing in improving justice programs. Created in July 1985 and located in West Newton, Massachusetts, TSG has conducted research and provided technical assistance to justice organizations in every state in the nation. For over thirteen years, The Spangenberg Group has been under contract with the American Bar Association's Bar Information Program (BIP), which provides support and technical assistance to individuals and organizations working to improve their jurisdictions' indigent defense systems. In its work on behalf of the Bar Information Program, The Spangenberg Group has worked with judges, bar associations, state and local governments, legislative bodies and public defender organizations in over forty states around the country. The Spangenberg Group, after determining the scope of the review needed in the Athens- Clarke and Oconee Counties indigent defense system, was able to procure funding from ABA-BIP to conduct a general evaluation of the Legal Aid and Defender Clinic. The ABA-BIP Advisory Group granted approval to TSG in January 1999 to perform this review. BIP was particularly interested in the Clinic as a teaching law office, as it is an innovative and unique approach to providing indigent defense representation. The purpose of this project was to conduct an objective review of the program s operations and delivery of indigent defense services in order to recommend suggested improvements to caseload management, office administration, and resource utilization. The following report sets forth the work completed by The Spangenberg Group in Athens- Clarke and Oconee Counties. Chapter 2 describes the site work performed by TSG representatives and the sources of information upon which our observations and findings are based. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 summarize our observations concerning (1) the structure of the Legal Aid and Defender Clinic; (2) management, supervision and training at the Clinic; (3) the Clinic s affiliation with the University of Georgia; and (4) the Clinic s intake and indigency screening procedures; and (5) caseload management. Chapter 6 sets forth recommendations for improvement. 2

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7 Chapter 2 Site Work On January 26 and 27, 1999, Senior Research Associate Susan L. Murphy and Research Associate Evelyn S. Pan visited the Legal Aid and Defender Clinic in Athens, Georgia. Although TSG has had significant experience with the indigent defense system in other parts of Georgia, 3 we felt it important to meet the Director and the staff personally to facilitate frank discussions and accurate observations of the program, its surroundings, and the particularities of criminal defense practice in Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties. TSG considers site work a critical part of all program evaluations, as it is the best way to capture the detail and essence of a program. Before our visit, however, we collected and reviewed pertinent, written information about the Clinic, e.g., budget requests, student handbook, and contracts, to prepare ourselves with basic information. These materials were extremely detailed and well-prepared, and served as an excellent basis for a productive and focused visit. At the outset, TSG wishes to commend all Legal Aid and Defender Clinic staff for their commitment to their indigent defense clientele and the mission of the program. 4 We met with almost every attorney in the office, as well as all support staff, and several law students. Without exception, these individuals demonstrated enthusiasm for the Clinic s work, and consistently expressed 3 In 1990, BIP funded a study of the Fulton County indigent defense system conducted by The Spangenberg Group at the request of the Georgia Indigent Defense Council (GIDC). We produced a report, entitled Overview of the Fulton County Indigent Defense System, which examined the Fulton County public defender caseload and support services. In the fall of 1991, the GIDC contacted The Spangenberg Group to request indigent defense caseload and expenditure information from other states to determine if the state of Georgia is currently providing an adequate level of funding for indigent defense services. The Spangenberg Group, on behalf of BIP, published Comparative Analysis of Indigent Defense Expenditures and Caseloads in States with Mixed State & County Funding, in February Also, in June 1998, TSG conducted a program evaluation of the Fulton County Conflict Defender and published the report, A Review of the Fulton County Conflict Defender. 4 As is stated in its FY00 Secondary Agency Budget Request, the mission of the Legal Aid and Defender Clinic is: to provide thorough and professional legal services to indigent persons charged with violating the criminal law. The purpose of the representation is to ensure that justice is afforded all persons, not just those who are wealthy enough to hire a private attorney. As a teaching law office, it also provides law students with hands on experience, as they assist the staff of the office with all aspects of the representation, in return for academic credit. 4

8 thoughtful ideas about the program. These contributions were invaluable to TSG s work at the Clinic, and we wish to thank all interviewees for their assistance. The Spangenberg Group representatives began their site work by meeting with the Director, Russell Gabriel. Throughout both days, we met with felony, misdemeanor, and juvenile attorneys, and all support staff. The purpose of these one-on-one interviews was to learn more about staff members daily work routines and perceptions about the program. TSG also observed a clinic seminar for the law students enrolled in the course, and we spoke at greater length with two law students about their experiences with the clinic program. TSG representatives also visited the courts in Athens-Clarke County. We conducted in-court observations, as well as several interviews with State and Superior Court judges. These interviews enabled us to learn more about the criminal justice system in Athens-Clarke County, and also to gain perspective on the relationship between Legal Aid attorneys and the courts. Mr. Gabriel also coordinated time for us to meet with the county auditor to discuss general county justice system plans as they might affect the Clinic. 5

9 Chapter 3 Structure of the Legal Aid and Defender Clinic Personnel At the time of our visit, the Legal Aid and Defender Clinic had 21 full-time employees, 5 including attorneys and support staff. The staff break-down is as follows: Director; Associate Director (who also functions as a full time felony attorney); Five Superior Court (felony) attorneys; Two State Court (misdemeanor) attorneys; One Municipal Court (misdemeanor) attorney; Two Juvenile Court attorneys; One University fellow (attorney functioning as paralegal); Two paralegals; Two investigators; Three 6 secretaries; and One receptionist. Management The Director of the Legal Aid and Defender Clinic is the chief administrator of the program, and is also a member of the University of Georgia law school faculty. At the time of our visit, the Director was managing all aspects of running the Clinic, from administrative tasks to academic planning. The Director is responsible for holding weekly class sessions for the Clinic s students, which typically cover aspects of defender practice and criminal procedure. The Director handles a limited serious felony caseload, which at the time of our review included two pending death 5 While all employees are University employees, they are paid from three sources of funds. The University funds the salary of the director and half the salary of the assistant director; one attorney position is funded through an annual fellowship available through the Clinic; and the other positions are funded through contracts with Athens- Clarke and Oconee Counties. 6 A third secretary was employed at the time of our visit, but we were informed that funding for that position is temporary. 6

10 penalty cases, and regularly handles preliminary hearings in both counties. The Director will also occasionally fill in for staff attorneys when necessary. Because of a lack of adequate secretarial support, we observed that the Director handles quite a bit of clerical and general administrative tasks in addition to the Clinic s teaching, personnel management, and budget and policy-making responsibilities. Weekly staff meetings have abated in favor of monthly meetings, and very little structured supervision is performed by the Director. The Director has instituted weekly felony and misdemeanor team meetings so that attorneys may confer with each other regarding pending cases, trials, new case law, or other related issues. Although a written description of the Associate Director s responsibilities was prepared shortly after the current Director arrived in July 1996, at the time of our visit, the Associate Director had not been able to carry out all of the enumerated duties. Those duties include: designing and implementing in-house training for attorneys; identifying other instructional materials, such as videotapes, for in-house attorney training; initiating and facilitating attorney participation in various trial practice seminars outside the office; designing and implementing interview skills training for the clinical program; tracking all staff annual and sick leave; completing the annual application for funds from the Georgia Indigent Defense Council; and maintaining a significant case load. Among these responsibilities, the Associate Director has not been able to facilitate attendance at conferences or identify training materials that could be used in-house. Further, she has not been actively involved in review of the interview process. The Associate Director is the most senior felony attorney in the office and handles a full felony caseload. She typically teaches one course each year at the University, and, on request of the Director, assists in teaching of the clinical classes. The Associate Director also performs administrative tasks as requested by the Director on an ad hoc basis, such as lease renewal and researching possible funding alternatives. In the coming school year, the Associate Director will not be teaching a class at the University, thus it is expected she will have more adequate time to accomplish all of the responsibilities of the position. At the time of our visit, we observed there was very little formal coordination of management between the Director and the Associate Director of the Legal Aid Clinic, but we understand this has been remedied somewhat with the Associate Director assuming supervision responsibilities of the misdemeanor attorneys. 7

11 Attorneys There are six full-time felony staff attorneys at the Clinic. Two felony attorneys are assigned to each of three Superior Courts, and the case assignments are split alphabetically. These are all relatively seasoned defense attorneys, and there is little supervision provided or, from what the attorneys told us, desired. In addition to the weekly felony team meetings, the Director and senior attorneys are always available for informal consultation. At the time of our visit, felony attorneys were rarely rotated out of their Superior Court assignments, although homicide cases were rotated among all felony attorneys regardless of the judge to whom the case has been assigned. Since our visit, the office implemented a rotation of felony attorneys into a misdemeanor court for six months and then back to a different felony court from the one he or she left. All felony attorneys, including the Director, serve a Magistrate Court preliminary hearing rotation. The Clinic has one attorney handling all Municipal Court misdemeanor cases, and two in State Court who split the misdemeanor case assignments alphabetically. T h e n e w r o t a t i o n schedule will allow misdemeanor attorneys to rotate into the Superior Courts once they have accumulated sufficient experience. The Clinic has two juvenile attorneys handling cases involving minors accused of juvenile delinquency offenses and parents who face deprivation of parental care or termination of parental rights charges. As in the other courts, the attorneys split the case assignments alphabetically. Support Staff Support staff at the Clinic are extremely scant. There is one receptionist and two secretaries, one of whom is also the office manager, for all twelve staff attorneys. The office manager, who has been with the Clinic for 28 years, is responsible for opening felony, juvenile, and Superior Court probation revocation files, typing some letters and an occasional brief, making photocopies, maintaining the felony court calendars, and she also serves as the office s notary public. Besides these secretarial functions, she performs basic office administrator tasks such as ordering office supplies, paying all bills, and processing the Clinic s mail. The other secretary opens and closes all misdemeanor files, performs data entry, types letters and motions, maintains the misdemeanor calendar, and sends out form letters to the Solicitor s office to inform them of attorney appointments. 8

12 All support staff agreed that there is a significant phone and work coverage problem when any other secretary is absent. At the time of our visit, a temporary secretary had been hired to help alleviate this problem. Investigation There are two investigators serving all twelve attorneys at the Clinic. One handles only felony investigations, and the other only misdemeanors. The quality of investigations is reported to be excellent, but the overwhelming opinion was that the office needs more investigators. We were told that, due to the lack of additional investigative help, the felony investigator only accepts tasks for the most serious of felony cases. 7 Sometimes students are assigned investigative tasks, but many attorneys feel that the students are not trained to handle this aspect of public defender practice, and generally do not rely on their students to assist them in this manner. Most attorneys perform their own investigations because of the inability of the current investigation team to handle all requests. Paralegals The Clinic has two paralegals. One attends bond hearings in Athens-Clarke County jail every morning, and collects names of individuals who have requested Legal Aid representation. She also makes contact with individuals who are released on bond to inform them of their responsibility to come to the Clinic for an interview. This paralegal also compiles a list of arrestees who cannot make bond, and assigns students to interview these inmates within the next 48 hours. The second paralegal obtains copies of arrest warrants and police reports for felony cases, although sometimes for misdemeanor files as well. She also subpoenas witnesses and prepares cases for preliminary hearing in Clarke County. In addition to these paralegal duties, the second paralegal is also responsible for bookkeeping for the Clinic. Generally, the paralegals are not available to attorneys for specific, case-related paraprofessional work. 7 The felony investigator works with attorneys on felony matters in which the client is faced with the possibility of ten or more years in prison. 9

13 Fellows The Clinic has a fellowship to hire a recent law school graduate for a one-year term of commitment, from August 1 to July 31. The results of the bar examination are released in October and provided the Fellow passes the bar, he or she actively represents clients in various proceedings, primarily at the misdemeanor level. The Fellow manages the pre-trial release process, which entails reviewing all client interviews performed by students; screening the interviews for defendants with no bond or with a bail that they are unable to make; and filing bond motions in those cases with no bond or excessive bail. The Fellow also will contact the magistrate directly in emergency situations requiring pretrial release. The Fellow will either appear at the bond hearing himself or transfer the hearing to the appropriate attorney. Social Work and Bilingual Personnel As of the school year, the Clinic qualified as a field placement for the University of Georgia School of Social Work s Masters of Social Work (MSW) degree program. During the term, the Clinic sponsored one MSW intern, who worked with juvenile court attorneys 32 hours/week in the spring and fall semesters. While there is no staff social work position, one juvenile court attorney holds a Masters degree in Social Work, and has found that her job entails significant use of that training. The Clinic plans to sponsor another MSW intern during the school year. There are no bilingual staff members, despite a growing need for Spanish-speaking personnel to handle intake interviews. 10

14 The Court System in Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties There are three Superior Court judges for Athens-Clarke County who hear felony matters at the courthouse in Athens, Georgia. These judges preside over arraignments, trials, and probation revocation hearings. There is no State Court in Oconee County, so both felony and misdemeanor cases are handled in Superior Court in that county. The Oconee County Superior Court, which meets much less frequently than Superior Court in Athens, is presided over by one of the three Athens Superior Court judges on a rotating basis. For misdemeanor cases, Athens-Clarke County operates one State Court and one Municipal Court. Arraignments, probation revocation hearings and bench trials are held in both State and Municipal Courts; jury trials are only held in State Court. State Court typically holds jail call once a week, while Municipal Court holds jail call twice a week or more. The solicitor s decision of whether to bring a misdemeanor case in State or Municipal Court is discretionary. There are two Magistrate Court judges in Athens-Clarke County, and one in Oconee County who hold preliminary hearings in felony cases proceeding to Superior Court, issue arrest and search warrants, and set bond in all but the most serious cases. Probate Court in Oconee County handles misdemeanor traffic cases and a few non-traffic misdemeanors. Legal Aid provides limited representation in Probate Court based on its current contract with Oconee County. In calendar year 1998, Legal Aid opened only 15 cases in Probate Court in Oconee County. Juvenile Court in Athens-Clarke County presides over matters involving persons under the age of 17 charged with criminal offenses. Legal Aid also represents indigent parents facing deprivation and/or termination of parental rights. Criminal Practice and Procedure The Clinic s program covers three broad areas: intake/pretrial detention, felony representation, and misdemeanor/juvenile representation. Representation of indigent criminal defendants by Clinic staff attorneys in misdemeanor cases is vertical from the date the Clinic accepts the case, i.e., the same attorney handles all aspects and proceedings of a client s case from that point to disposition, and occasionally onto appeal. In felony cases, representation is vertical only after the case is assigned to a specific judge in the Superior Court. This occurs when a bond motion is filed or the case is indicted, whichever comes first. The Clinic files motions to set or reduce bond 11

15 for persons in custody as quickly as possible after the initial interview of the person, in order that bond will be set quickly, and also to ensure judicial assignment and concomitant assignment to a specific attorney within the Clinic. Prior to the assignment to an attorney, felony cases are handled by a combination of law students who conduct initial interviews, the paralegal who organizes preliminary hearings, and attorneys who handle preliminary hearings on a rotating basis. Typically the paralegal who attends bond hearings will make initial, pre-screening contact with inmates seeking Legal Aid representation shortly after arrest. However, in juvenile court, the Clinic is never involved until after arraignment of the juvenile, except where the juvenile defendant is in custody. Intake/Pretrial Detention Intake/pretrial detention procedures are nearly identical for both felony and misdemeanor defendants. A bond hearing is held every day of the week except Sunday, at which arrestees are assessed for bond eligibility. A Clinic paralegal appears at this hearing to initiate contact with those arrestees interested in obtaining representation from Legal Aid. Individuals who are released on bond are given contact information and instructions to come to the Clinic for an interview. Those who remain in jail are put on a list which is subsequently divided among clinic students for jail interviews. The Clinic s intake function relies primarily on the students for completion. The intake interviews serve to screen potential clients for financial eligibility, as well as to gather basic facts about the events leading to the charged offenses. The jail intake interviews are reviewed by the Clinic s Fellow to identify clients with no bond or with a bail that they are unable to make. The Fellow immediately files a bond motion in those cases. According to attorneys and judges we interviewed, bond is apparently set very high in this jurisdiction. We were told that the magistrate views the bond process as an opportunity to punish individuals who were arrested on particularly offensive charges, or with whom the magistrate is familiar. Magistrates reportedly instruct detainees that the purpose of bond is one, to make sure they return to court and two, to make sure they never do this again. This requires the Clinic to prepare and file a relatively high number of bond reduction motions. In misdemeanor cases these are normally decided without a hearing, and, more often than not, granted. In felony cases a hearing is almost always required, as the District Attorney s office is reluctant to consent to a bond or bond reduction. At one point the District Attorney s office reportedly had an express policy that it would 12

16 not consent to bond for defendants represented by the Clinic, but this policy has apparently relaxed somewhat over the past year. Felony Representation All felony representation at the Clinic is provided by six attorneys practicing exclusively in Superior Court, plus the Director. One of these felony attorneys is also the Associate Director of the Clinic, who, in addition to carrying her full felony caseload, teaches one law school course per year and carries out various administrative duties. As mentioned earlier, this workload has contributed to an inability for the Associate Director to carry out all of her administrative duties. Only one secretary is available for all the felony attorneys. The Clinic assigns each of its attorneys to practice nearly exclusively before a specific Superior Court judge. There are two attorneys assigned to each of the three Superior Court judges. The same three Superior Court judges rotate through Superior Court in Oconee County, and the Oconee caseload is handled by the same defender who would normally handle that judge s courtroom in Athens. Felony attorneys describe their caseload as manageable, though heavy at times. According to the most recent Secondary Agency Budget Requests, the Clinic reported its calendar year 1998 felony caseload to consist of 1,253 cases (753 felony matters, 500 probation revocations). The felony attorneys, because of their exclusive assignment to certain judges, acknowledge that this assignment structure enables them to cultivate long-term goodwill and experience with each court, its staff, and the district attorneys. Most attorneys reported a strong, mutually respectful relationship with both the Court and the prosecution. At the same time, however, many attorneys expressed frustration with the monotony of a single assignment, particularly as judges became more and more routinized in their management of cases. Most expressed willingness to participate in rotation among felony courtrooms, which has since occurred. Felony defendants who are not directly indicted appear for preliminary hearings in Magistrate Court approximately two weeks after their call date. These preliminary hearings are handled on a rotating basis by the six felony attorneys, plus the Director. Specific attorneys are not assigned to felony cases until a case is assigned to a specific judge. This occurs when the first document in the case is filed with the Superior Clerk. Typically, as mentioned previously, this is 13

17 either a motion to reduce or set bond, or the indictment. One of the paralegals prepares for preliminary hearings by gathering the necessary documents (arrest warrants, police reports, etc.) and subpoenaing witnesses for the hearings, as requested by the attorneys. Arraignments are held on different schedules, depending on the court. In the Athens-Clarke Superior Courts, they are held approximately once every six weeks. In State Court, they are held once a month. In Municipal Court, they are held every week, Monday through Thursday. In the Oconee County Superior Courts, arraignments are held once every quarter or less. In the misdemeanor courts, the Clinic attorneys have difficulty preparing cases prior to arraignment. Arraignment dates in State Court are scheduled only after an accusation is filed, and the Solicitor (the prosecuting attorney for misdemeanors in Athens-Clarke County) has discretion over when it files an accusation. Arraignment calendars for State Court are sent out only a few days prior to the court date, and the Solicitor s office does not always have time to negotiate pleas in advance of arraignment. The time for arraignments is not so rushed in the Superior Courts, and attorneys tend to be better prepared prior to the felony arraignments than the misdemeanor ones. Nevertheless, many defendants enter not guilty pleas at arraignment only to change the plea later when the case appears on a trial calendar. Almost without exception, attorneys do not begin concerted case preparation until after the first arraignment date. The Clinic receives a list of cases scheduled to appear on the arraignment calendar ten days before the arraignment date. Attorneys will often attempt to visit the client in jail or seek an in-office meeting prior to arraignment, but little action is directed toward reaching a potential plea agreement. This is largely due to the lack of prosecutorial readiness to negotiate prior to arraignment. As a result, not guilty pleas are entered in the majority of cases, causing unnecessary delay in cases that should be able to be resolved at arraignment. Both misdemeanor and felony attorneys note that prosecutors frequently do not have adequate information (or are not otherwise prepared) to negotiate cases prior to arraignment. Another impediment to plea negotiation arises from the fact that discovery materials are seldom provided by the prosecution to the defense prior to the arraignment. Superior Court judges with whom we spoke stated that they felt too few cases are resolved at arraignment. The judges expressed a desire to see additional preparation by both the prosecution and the defense to be fully prepared for pleas at arraignment when such pleas are appropriate. 14

18 Misdemeanor Representation Misdemeanor cases are heard in State and Municipal Courts in Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties. As in felony cases, the Clinic paralegal appears at the bond hearings to determine which arrestees plan to request Legal Aid representation and coordinates the interviews. An intake interview is conducted by the law student in the office or at the jail, and once eligibility is determined, the office screens for a conflict. If there is no conflict, the Clinic accepts the appointment and awaits the arraignment. Generally, once an accusation is filed in State Court, the arraignment is held within a few weeks, and the case is tried within one to three months. Prior to the accusation being filed, the case is under review by the Solicitor s office, and this process can take from one to three months as well. The Municipal Court Clerk is entirely separate from the State Court Clerk, and the Solicitor elects how to charge and therefore where to file each case. For this reason, the Clinic notifies the Solicitor it accepts a case for representation, but not the Clerks of Court. It is not possible to file a notice of appearance on a case which has not yet been filed in court. The Clinic automatically requests police reports from the police department on the day a misdemeanor file is opened. It takes from one to two weeks to receive those reports, so if a client goes to the Clinic the day before arraignment, the Clinic attorneys will not have a police report or much other information about the case prior to arraignment. Clinic attorneys will not be prepared for arraignment under these circumstances. The Solicitor General has a semi-open file policy, in that the prosecutors will allow defense attorneys to review some, but not all, information contained in a file. The Solicitor General will not, however, allow defense attorneys to copy documents from their files, which severely limits the usefulness of being able to view the file, and prevents defense attorneys, including Clinic attorneys, from being able to prepare cases and counsel clients as easily as they would where the prosecution has an open file policy with copying privileges. Following not guilty pleas, trials in Municipal Court are scheduled for approximately two to four weeks later, and in State Court for one to two months later. The attorneys experiences with case overload reportedly vary from manageable to critical. In Municipal Court, the pace is more hectic, while State Court caseloads linger over time. State Court attorneys generally have to keep track of their cases for much longer periods of time because they are not resolved as quickly as those in Municipal Court. Even so, State Court 15

19 attorneys rarely have time to conduct any investigation pre-arraignment. Because the Clinic never files an entry of appearance with the court in State Court cases, the court, then, does not notify the Clinic of dismissed cases. This contributes to the fact that State Court attorneys do not have a good sense of how many of their cases are active and open. The attorneys must physically go to the Court to check to see whether a case has been dismissed. We find this a particularly startling situation that should be easily remedied by instituting different procedures for entering the Clinic s appearance in these cases. One matter affecting the caseload of misdemeanor attorneys (primarily State Court) is the development of a no-drop policy in the prosecutors offices concerning domestic violence cases. The no-drop policy has resulted in prosecution of many cases that have little or no evidentiary foundation for the charges; in some cases, the trial proceeds although the complaining witness no longer wishes to prosecute. These comprise almost a majority of the Clinic s misdemeanor trials. Although the Clinic wins a majority of these cases, the time and preparation involved for any trial, no matter the charges, exacts considerable time from the misdemeanor attorneys schedules. Juvenile Representation Legal Aid does not get an opportunity to speak with juveniles charged with delinquency prior to arraignment, unless the juvenile goes to the Clinic in advance of his or her court date, or the juvenile is in pre-trial detention and the Clinic is notified prior to arraignment. At arraignment in juvenile court, juveniles charged with delinquency are assembled and read their rights. If the juvenile admits the charges, he or she is generally not appointed an attorney. Only if the juvenile denies the charges will the Clinic become involved. This situation poses some serious issues for the juvenile court attorneys at Legal Aid. Because of a statutory ten-day limitation on detention of juveniles, a trial must be held on the charges within ten days of arraignment. The earliest that the Clinic may become involved in a juvenile matter is the day of arraignment; however, the juvenile court attorneys informed us that they rarely get notice of their appointment immediately. In some cases, they are notified of their appointment to a juvenile case only 3-5 days before trial. There are no investigators assigned to work on juvenile matters, and the attorneys themselves not only conduct much of the investigation but also spend a significant portion of their time conducting social work activities, such as arranging 16

20 alternative treatment options, or working with probation. Office Equipment and Resources The Clinic Office The Clinic is housed at 160 East Washington Street, in Athens, Georgia, just a short walk from the center of the University of Georgia campus and the Athens-Clarke County courthouses. The Clinic leases its office space. The space is adequate to provide all attorneys, paralegals, and investigators individual private offices, as well as two private interview rooms and a library, kitchen area, and common meeting room which currently accommodates Clinic seminars and staff meetings. The few offices which have windows generally face the brick wall of the next building. Although the offices appear generally in good condition, some offices are in disrepair, e.g., crumbling ceiling tiles. Staff members report difficulty getting repairs completed when unhealthy conditions arise. Furniture is in satisfactory condition; due to the Clinic s affiliation with the University, the program is able to receive used, hand-me-down pieces from other University departments. Computerization and Office Automation The Clinic provides its staff with basic modern law office equipment. There are two photocopiers of fair reliability, a fax machine, and voic to answer calls in the receptionist s absence. All attorneys and support staff have computers of varying grades of hardware which are networked throughout the office, and almost all attorneys type their own motions, briefs, and correspondence. The office is equipped with interoffice , however, it is not utilized by most of the staff. The computer network is not utilized to its full potential. Attorneys do not use a consistent file-identification procedure, nor are any documents placed on the network for others to use. The network is not routinely archived, and almost all staff members interviewed complained of a system failure at least once a week. System failure is cured by all staff exiting any network programs so the office manager can re-boot the server. This process can take as long as 15 minutes, which is more of a nuisance than a critical failure of the system. Still, there is no staff person responsible for 17

21 maintenance of the network system or other computer management issues, although the University does provide hardware support and technical help. Law Library Resources There is a relatively well-stocked library of legal materials within the Clinic. In addition to bound editions of necessary case reporters and Georgia code materials, the Clinic subscribes to the Fulton Daily Report, which essentially keeps lawyers up-to-date on state law developments. The Clinic also has access from one computer terminal to electronic legal research through Lexis and Westlaw, which is provided at no cost through the University of Georgia. 18

22 Chapter 4 Management, Supervision, and Training Management The Legal Aid and Defender Clinic is managed by the Director, Russell Gabriel, who was hired in July, In the history of the Clinic, lines of authority as drawn between the Director and Associate Director positions have always been blurred. As mentioned earlier, when the current director joined the office, he delegated a number of duties to the Associate Director. So far, the Associate Director has not been able to regularly complete the administrative tasks assigned to her, save for the completing the annual GIDC application, in addition to fulfilling her caseload demands. Currently, the Director handles all budget preparation, the day-to-day management of attorneys, students, and support staff, and other administrative work. Most attorneys consider the Director their immediate supervisor. Although the Associate Director is often consulted as the senior felony attorney, at the time we visited, she did not appear to have any formalized management authority over personnel. However, since our visit, the Associate Director has assumed supervisory responsibility for the misdemeanor team. All staff members recognize and appreciate the Director s ability to bring the Clinic to the table politically within the judicial system of Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties. Some described the Director as forward-looking. There is some concern, however, that the Director is overburdened with clerical administrative responsibilities which affect the amount of time remaining for supervision, management and case-handling duties. Also, the Director has been searching for a way to institute a more effective and meaningful evaluation system; one of the major stumbling blocks is that he is himself unable to monitor and supervise attorneys work. Many suggested that the Director delegate more duties among staff as a solution. We are told that since our visit, the Director formed several committees to better define and delegate responsibilities within the office. Various attorneys now sit on committees with responsibility for interview form revision, file organization protocol, open records investigation, staff training, creation/organization of an inhouse bank of briefs and memos and a social committee. 19

23 Evaluation and Supervision There is no formal supervision system in place at the Legal Aid and Defender Clinic, although a University-established evaluation process does exist which is completed each year by the Director. This evaluation process is not tailored to public defender or attorney practice. All employees are evaluated annually and given the opportunity to review their evaluation prior to its submission to the law school dean. Due to the time constraints on the Director and Associate Director, there is very little in-court observation of attorneys, and the evaluation process suffers for this reason. Further, there is no established set of performance standards or guidelines, or even basic job descriptions, which might assist attorney and non-attorney staff and their supervisors in providing guidance and evaluation. Newer attorneys were not even aware of an evaluation system, and others expressed frustration at not having greater input into the process. One attorney described the work environment as isolated for attorneys who do not take the initiative to ask questions. Many of the newer attorneys say that because of the lack of supervision, they spend a great deal of time learning how to organize their practice in addition to performing the traditional attorney functions. The Director is currently considering a switch to a self-evaluation program whereby attorneys can appraise their own performance based on a checklist of attorney duties and responsibilities. Training New attorneys do not receive any formal training upon joining the office. Attorneys who were once interns at the Clinic and/or attorneys in criminal practice assert that they do not feel that they needed a very formal training period. New attorneys with no criminal case experience are paired with experienced attorneys for as long as practicable. There is no formal substantive training for experienced attorneys, either. Most attorneys try to keep up with current legal developments through weekly professional journals that are received by the Clinic. The attorneys can also take advantage of the weekly team meetings to exchange ideas and information. These meetings are relatively new to the office, and it was our observation that attendance and format were still evolving. Attorneys are encouraged to attend external, professional training through the Georgia Indigent Defense Council, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Institute of 20

24 Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) and the National Criminal Defense College (NCDC). Clinic employees attend GIDC and ICLE seminars free of charge and the Clinic has been fortunate to receive a scholarship for the past several years to pay for at least one employee to attend the NCDC s two week annual trial practice seminar. Despite these resources, some attorneys stated that they are unable to take full advantage of these opportunities due to time constraints. One attorney suggested that the office might be allowed to have access to substantive training materials so that taking time out of court schedules is not necessary to gain refresher training. In house training is severely lacking. The Clinic is large enough to sponsor its own training for all of its 13 attorneys. Some efforts have been made in this direction, but thus far the administrative staff have not been able to devote sufficient resources (primarily time) to this project. Further, once individual staff members return from attending external training sessions, there is no sharing of information with the rest of staff, which could be enormously valuable. 21

25 Chapter 5 The Clinic and the University of Georgia The University of Georgia law school partially funds the Legal Aid and Defender Clinic as a part of its teaching facility. It directly pays for the Director s salary and half of the Associate Director s salary. Other staff salaries are based on the University s pay scale. Approximately 65 University of Georgia law school students work with the office in each of three trimesters (fall, spring, summer) per year as clinical interns. The office also uses the services of a social work intern and an undergraduate criminal justice intern. Further, the Legal Aid and Defender Clinic receives non-revenue support from the University in the following ways: C Law library partially supplied by the law school; Free access to on-line legal research through Lexis/Nexis and Westlaw; Computer support and training; and Surplus office furniture and equipment. The clinical program is designed to run more than one semester for each student. Admission to the clinical program after the student has completed the first semester of the program is by permission of the instructor only. The first semester is an introduction to the Clinic with special emphasis on interviewing clients. The interviewing process helps students develop a number of skills. The staff believe that a good interviewer will be cognizant of several areas of substantive law, including criminal law, constitutional law, evidence and procedure; while at the same time taking care to elicit useful and correct information from a client about issues underlying the case and the client s needs. By the end of the semester, most students will have conducted 25 or more interviews. The Clinic s law students are assigned to one or more attorneys for supervision. All attorneys are required to participate in the clinical program and to mentor one or more students during the course of the semester. The students are individually responsible for securing assignments from their designated mentors, which generally include tasks such as interviewing witnesses, gathering investigation and court documents, and legal research. Additionally, Clinic students have office hour requirements each week throughout the semester, during which they 22

26 must conduct client interviews, or work on specific cases or projects. 8 Students are required to keep track of their time on weekly time sheets that must be submitted to both the receptionist and the supervising attorneys. Participation and evaluated work contribute to the students final grades. Students in their third-year of law school are permitted to apply for certification from the Superior Court to practice in-court with the supervision of an attorney. Clinic students with certification are often given their own clients to represent, and may even try cases in court when appropriate. An initial orientation covers interviewing clients and witnesses, and each attorney takes his or her student to the jail at the beginning of the semester to demonstrate for them the interviewing process. Following that orientation, weekly substantive seminars cover issues such as bond, discovery, search and seizure, pre-trial motions, arraignment and trial preparation, sentencing, probation revocations, the elements of an offense, and other topics. Aside from weekly substantive seminars, law students are not formally trained to perform many of the tasks to which they are assigned. Rather, the attorney-mentors are responsible for teaching the students what they need to know and indeed, many students consider the attorneys their teachers. The quality and depth of the training provided to students necessarily depends on the attorneys amount of available time and willingness to participate in rigorous teaching. All attorneys are responsible for participating in the Clinic s teaching responsibilities. Almost all attorneys, even the very new attorneys, have students assigned to them for mentorship and assistance. Generally speaking, the attorneys view the students as helpful to their practice, though many complained that there was little time to provide any real mentorship or constructive training to these students. The degree to which attorneys assigned work to their students varied considerably. Some attorneys allowed their students to participate extensively in representation, from client contact to sentencing. Others, however, do not use their students at all. The end result is that the Clinic students have very diverse views of the Clinic s effectiveness as a teaching facility. The Clinic s primary use of second year law students is to handle intake interviews. Many students, whether also involved in advanced representation functions or not, spend the majority of 8 First-year clinic students must spend at least ten hours per week at the Clinic; second-year clinic students have a twenty-hour requirement. 23