TOPEKA — Kansas public defense is at a crisis point, officials say, with overworked attorneys struggling to provide adequate services in the midst of a worker shortage.
Heather Cessna, executive director of the Kansas State Board of Indigents’ Defense Services, gave lawmakers an overview of the agency’s situation Thursday, during a House Judiciary Committee meeting.
Kansas doesn’t have enough criminal defense counsel to meet the volume of cases being charged by prosecutors. Cessna said the agency was drowning, grappling with a worker shortage, poor pay and long hours.
