LEXINGTON, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska civil rights organization is warning a central Nebraska county that its public defender's office is woefully understaffed, to the point of violating state and federal constitutions.
The Nebraska
chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says Dawson County had
only a part-time public defender with a part-time deputy to handle more
than 250 cases last year.
The ACLU says the standard is no more than 150 felonies per full-time public defender each year.
The
group sent a letter Thursday to the Dawson County Board of
Commissioners, saying the public defender's office must be better
staffed, or the ACLU could sue.
Dawson County Commissioner Butch
Hagan said Thursday he had not seen the letter and that the board will
soon be voting on staffing for the public defender's office.
