Judges ask commissioners to consider being a Public Defender County with a local board

Marshall County Judge Circuit Court Janette Surrisi and Superior Court I Judge Tami Napier appeared before the County Commissioners and presented a new model for funding public defense in the county. 

Surrisi said the new model for handling public defense attorneys comes from the Indiana Commission for Court Appointed Attorneys.  She said the state sets standards, including how many cases a public defender can take and the support services they can use.  In return for complying with state standards, the commission will reimburse 40% of the county’s public defender expenses. Looking at Marshall County’s public defender cases in 2023, the state would have reimbursed the county $55,000. 

Surrisi told the commissioners that 68 of the 92 counties in Indiana are participating in the proposed funding plan for public defenders.  She said PD counties have less jail overcrowding, higher standards, and more oversight provided to public defenders, resulting in better processing time from the jail into the Indiana Department of Corrections, which leads to less money spent on inmate care for the county.

Judge Surrisi said they use public defenders in cases involving CHINS (children in need of services), and statistics show that public defender commission counties have a shorter time of reunification or adoption.  This gives children better services and achieves permanency at a quicker rate. 

Surrisi told the commissioners that this type of public defender is an insurance plan that the county doesn’t have in place now.  Referring to the Delphi murders, she said Marshall County would be looking at numbers for defense and prosecution like we have never seen before. At the end of 2024, Carroll County had already expended $2.5 million, with $1.3 million attributed to defense, and since they are a public defender county, they will receive reimbursement of over half a million dollars. If a case like that happened in Marshall County, we would not have that insurance to help recoup some costs.       

The judges asked the commissioner to consider establishing a Public Defender Commission Board for Marshall County. The board would be comprised of three members serving a 3-year term.  One member would be appointed by the Commissioners, the second member selected by the four judges in Marshall County, and the third member selected by the Court Appointed Commission for Court Appointed Attorneys in Indianapolis.

Once selected, the board’s first task would be to prepare a comprehensive plan for a budget and determine if the county should contract with attorneys or have a chief public defender.

The County Commissioners approved the first reading of an ordinance that begins the process of setting up a Public Defender Board for Marshall County. The second and third readings of the ordinance will be considered at the next commissioners meeting on May 12.