Considerable grant funding has enabled the Genesee County Public Defender’s Office to handle its caseload, provide technology for its attorneys and keep the line of communication with its clients open, Public Defender Jerry Ader said Tuesday.
In his 2021 report to the Genesee County Legislature’s Public Service Committee, Ader said he was “pleased” about the grant funding, noting that the department’s staff -- which includes six full-time and one part-time assistant public defenders -- is “adapting and being flexible as we deal with the (COVID-19) pandemic.”
“All in all, we’re doing pretty well, all things considered,” he said.
His report indicated that his office is “directly related to the protocols and procedures in effect by the courts and, to a lesser degree, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.”
Ader said grant money has enabled the purchase of laptops for each of the lawyers, vital to efficiency as much work is being done remotely, and more and more appearances are “virtual.”
The office received a grant to devise a better video conference setup between attorney and client, one that features a plexiglass shield for the conference table, wall-mounted television, and premium air purifier.
Additionally, the office continues to receive grant funding from the New York Indigent Legal Services Office and “notwithstanding the financial constraints New York faces … we continue to receive full reimbursement for our claims on this funding,” Ader said.
He said the second year budget of a five-year contract with ILS was approved and will provide more than $650,000 to the department. Focus on the third-year budget will be on renovating part of the former Engine House restaurant to make it Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant for access to the second floor and to build office space.
Financial incentives from ILS are allowing staff members to appear at all off-hours arraignments, no matter what time of day, Ader said. He said his office is working with local judges to appear regularly for arraignments on appearance tickets during regular business hours.
Ader said there is talk about continuing virtual arraignments after the pandemic subsides, but thinks “it will meet a lot of resistance post-pandemic.”
On the subject of staffing, he said he hopes to fill the vacant paralegal position once vaccines for the pandemic are more widely available and being taken by the general public.
“We have 2021 grant funding to increase our staff by one senior assistant public defender and one social worker, but hiring will depend on the availability of space and approval by the Genesee County Legislature,” he said.
