A House committee passed without opposition measures meant to combat a heavy caseload in the state’s public defender system. Sen. Jack Goodman’s legislation, among other things, would allow the Missouri Public Defender Commission to seek out methods of controlling their ...

Tagged with: Jack Goodman Jay Nixon Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Missouri Public Defender Commission public defenders Tim Jones

An appeals court has struck down a rule allowing the Missouri Public Defender Commission to stop taking certain cases to reduce its offices’ workloads. The demise of the rule places additional importance on a bill pending in the Missouri Legislature ...

Tagged with: Boone County Cathy Kelly Missouri Court of Appeals Missouri Public Defender Commission prosecutor Supreme Court Western District

An appeals court has just struck down a rule allowing the Missouri Public Defender Commission to stop taking certain cases to reduce its workload. The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District this morning ruled that Missouri laws require the public ...

Tagged with: Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Missouri Public Defender Commission

Without additional funding to hire more personnel, leadership within the state’s public defender system is pushing for legislation capping the number of cases that can be accepted. Providing money for public defenders has been a recurring issue in the state, ...

Tagged with: Jack Goodman Missouri Missouri Public Defender Commission public defenders Skip Walther