Follow Deputy Public Defender Edmund Acoba down a hallway built by a team of inmates into a conference room adapted from a storage closet and one begins to understand the limitations his office faces as it works to represent thousands
Follow Deputy Public Defender Edmund Acoba down a hallway built by a team of inmates into a conference room adapted from a storage closet and one begins to understand the limitations his office faces as it works to represent thousands of accused lawbreakers.
The Public Defender’s Office — established in response to a 1963 U.S. Supreme Court decision guaranteeing legal representation to even the poorest accused criminals, funded by the Hawai‘i Legislature and located on the second floor of the state building in Lihu‘e — is tasked with providing counsel to indigent defendants unable to afford what they call a “real lawyer.”
Adding to that indignation is the stress of one of Acoba’s attorneys, Eric Moon, being out on indefinite sick leave, which has forced Acoba, John Calma and Dena Renti Cruz to cover District Court, Family Court, two 5th Circuit Court judges and an ever-growing case load.
From July through October, the office accepted nearly 100 felony cases, more than 400 misdemeanor cases and more than 100 juvenile cases. In the fiscal year ending last June, the office accepted more than 2,000 total cases.
The attorneys are in court four days a week, meet with clients on Fridays and often spend weekends preparing for Monday hearings. Acoba said Renti Cruz, who handles hundreds of misdemeanor cases at a time, has given up her vacation time this year.
Having so much on its plate has begun to affect the department’s work.
“I think the quality of the representation has suffered because we have to divide our time,” Acoba said in an interview at his office last week. “Every case requires attention. It’s hard to file motions, do legal research and do what needs to be done.”
Acoba acknowledged that many public defender offices are overworked, both statewide and nationwide. Earlier this month, reports surfaced that public defenders in Florida, Kentucky and other locations were suing the states for which they work for the right to refuse certain cases on the grounds that being stretched so thin was preventing them from adequately representing their clients.
Jack Tonaki, state public defender, said understaffed offices and bulging caseloads will inevitably lead to a cutback in services.
“We need to decide at some point which cases we’re going to refuse to accept,” he said, saying minor cases like petty misdemeanor charges carrying little or no jail time, would likely be the first to go. “But we are far from that point right now.”
Tonaki said neighbor islands like Kaua‘i are especially vulnerable because there are fewer hands to share the weight and because assistance from the state in terms of funding is unlikely to come.
“I know it causes me sleepless nights to worry about, because I know there will be more people who will need representation,” he said. “We want to serve all of them and we want to serve them well.”
Acoba and Tonaki each said the economic downturn would impact operations, from inciting more criminal activity such as stealing to preventing potential clients from being able to afford private attorneys.
The Dec. 1 swearing in of new Prosecuting Attorney Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho, who indicated in an interview when she announced her intention to run that she would be taking a hard line on negotiating plea bargains, could also make things difficult.
Still, Acoba remains upbeat.
“We try our best with what we have,” he said. “We know we did the best for the client and we walk out (of the courtroom) with our heads held high.”
• Michael Levine, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or via e-mail at mlevine@kauaipubco.com
