State Department of Public Advocacy in process of taking over Louisville Public Defender's Office

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- In six months, Kentucky's Department of Public Advocacy will fully take over Louisville's Public Defender's Office.

The Louisville-Jefferson County Public Defender Corporation operates as a nonprofit, and receives funding from both Louisville Metro Government and the state DPA. House Bill 568, passed by lawmakers in 2023, cut the funding from Metro Government and finalized the merger to be complete by July 2024. It was vetoed by Gov. Andy Beshear, but overridden.

Since its passage, the DPA has started its process to take over.

"We've met with every single employee of the Louisville office, we have a structure in place that we believe is going to be approved by the executive branch and that will be the structure of that office July 1, it's going to be very similar to the way it is now," said Damon Preston, lead public advocate for the DPA.

Part of the transition means the state will also need to take over the funding previously provided by Metro Government.

Both Beshear and the House of Representatives GOP-proposed budgets include around $11 million for the Louisville office.

"We may need a little more funding for some change circumstances, but they are providing what we, what we've asked for, and we look forward to using that in Louisville," Preston said.

He added that around half of the $11 million will go towards replacing the contribution made by Metro Government. The other half will pay for costs associated with being a state office, such as health benefits.

Louisville Public Defenders voted to unionize in January 2022 in a 32-5 vote, however the union said there was little cooperation from its higher-ups. In Nov. 2023, a federal judge ruled that the Public Defenders' Office did not fully cooperate with the union efforts.

Attorneys voted to unionize, in part, because of their high, unmanageable case loads due to a shortage of lawyers.

"My assumption is that they will not be unionized employees when they come to the DPA, but my bigger hope, aside from are they in the union, is are their concerns being met," Preston said.

Preston added that the state will be able to assist the office in recruiting. He said the Louisville location currently has 18 soon-to-be graduates committed to working in there.

Preston said DPA as a whole has had a staffing crisis for many years, and that Louisville has experienced "significant turnover." He said the Louisville office has around half the number of attorneys needed to be considered fully staffed.

"If we can hold on to the people that are there, which I hope we can, and add 30 or more lawyers, that office is going to be doing really good work that will do a lot to address the stress, the overwork, and the massive caseload that they're facing right now," Preston said.

A former public defender in the Louisville office who spoke with WDRB previously said in his first year he worked with around 800 cases. Two of them were murder cases.

The National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals recommends attorneys' caseloads balance between 100 felony cases or 400 misdemeanor cases in one year.

"We (DPA) will, I think, provide stability, long-term stability and bring them into a culture and a community of public defenders statewide," Preston said.

Critics of HB 568 also expressed concerns about completing the merger in one year, including Preston, however, he said he is confident the transition is on track, and they will meet the July 1 deadline.

As for any changes regarding the people represented by public defenders in Louisville, Preston said there will not be many changes.