Gov. Josh Shapiro’s first budget funded indigent defense funding and public defenders offices for the first time in Pennsylvania’s history. His first budget included $7.5 million for public defenders.
Gov. Josh Shapiro along with Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and Democratic leaders gathered in the Governor’s Reception Room at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg on Monday to celebrate historic funding for indigent defense services.
Last year marked the first time in the commonwealth’s history that Pennsylvania provided funding for indigent defense services, which provides public defenders with resources to provide legal defense for those who cannot afford it, after Shapiro secured $7.5 million in his first budget as governor.
The governor is pushing for a $2.5 million increase in funding for these public defender services in the upcoming 2024-25 budget.
House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia), a former public defender prior to being elected to the Pennsylvania House, told the room that this was an issue she’s been advocating for since being elected.
“This has been a priority for some time,” McClinton said. “Four sessions ago I introduced a bill on this very issue because it was rather embarrassing as a former public defender to now be a part of the august body of the General Assembly and not do anything significant about us lacking public defense.”
“When we talk about public safety, it’s not only investing in law enforcement, it’s not only in investigating and spending money in investigations, it is also an appropriately funding public defense because what we can never afford is for even one wrongfully convicted person to spend a second of their lives behind bars,” McClinton continued.
Once some remaining pieces of the budget was finalized last December, the funding for the new services were directed to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) for the creation of a new Indigent Defense Grant Program, which will be used for training and grants to expand services at the county level.
Monday’s gathering in the Governor’s Reception Room occurred following the first meeting of the Indigent Defense Advisory Committee, which is tasked with developing a program to distribute funds from last year’s budget according to a release issued by Shapiro’s office.
“This afternoon, Pennsylvania’s indigent Defense Advisory Committee held its first meeting,” State Rep. Napoleon Nelson (D-Montgomery) said at Monday’s event.
“This committee is charged with ensuring that no matter what county you are in or the money in your bank account, if you are accused of a crime, you can afford an attorney, a good one with the time and resources and training and team available at their disposal to give your innocence the representation it deserves.”
Davis, who chairs the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons and the Pennsylvania Commision on Crime and Delinquency, told reporters that the newly formed Indigent Defense Advisory Committee took the first steps in distributing funding across the commonwealth and that funds should start being distributed by the summer.
“If you don’t have adequate legal representation, you might not even get a first chance,” Davis said.
“Our system is set up with two opposing sides arguing cases on their merits before a judge and a jury of our peers. But if you can’t afford an attorney, that puts you at a significant disadvantage.”
Politics
Pennsylvania redesigned its mail-in ballot envelopes amid litigation. Some voters still tripped up
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A form Pennsylvania voters must complete on the outside of mail-in ballot return envelopes has been redesigned, but that did...
Biden makes 4 million more workers eligible for overtime pay
The Biden administration announced a new rule Tuesday to expand overtime pay for around 4 million lower-paid salaried employees nationwide. The...
Malcolm Kenyatta makes history after winning primary for Pa. Auditor General
State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who was first elected to the state House in 2018, won the Democratic nomination for Pa. Auditor General and will...
Local News
What do you know about Wawa? 7 fun facts about Pennsylvania’s beloved convenience store
Wawa has 60 years of Pennsylvania roots, and today the commonwealth’s largest private company has more than 1,000 locations along the east coast....
Conjoined twins from Berks County die at age 62
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations,...