For poor defendants, capabilities of contract defenders are a big concern

When Assemblyman William Horne signed up to be a contract lawyer for indigent criminal defendants a year ago, he knew he would be spending four months at the Legislature. So he found someone to fill in for him while he was in Carson City.

He hired Alina Kilpatrick, a lawyer who passed the Bar in December 2006. He said he gave her a month's training, and then the Las Vegas Democrat went off to the Legislature, leaving Kilpatrick to represent the indigent defendants who couldn't be handled by the Clark County public defender because of conflicts. Some attorneys tell me Kilpatrick was in over her head. I couldn't reach her for comment.

Now everybody has to begin somewhere, but are indigent defendants supposed to be a training ground for unsupervised attorneys? How many of you would hire an attorney with one month's experience if you were charged with a felony and your freedom was at risk?

Kilpatrick resigned effective May 1, and because Horne was still in the Legislature and couldn't do the work, he too resigned as a contract defender.

"If Mr. Horne had not resigned, we would have invoked a clause to terminate the contract," Court Administrator Chuck Short said. If Horne couldn't hire another associate or get someone else to cover his criminal cases, it wouldn't have been right to continue paying him $3,000 a month as a contract defense attorney.

It will be interesting to see whether Horne is hired for one of the 36 contract defender jobs available, now that the hiring system is being overhauled in response to the In Depth series written by Review-Journal reporter Alan Maimon. He pointed out a lot of flaws, including overbilling, lack of performance standards and the appearance of cronyism with judges hiring contract defenders.

From the perspective of the poor defendants, one of the biggest concerns has to be: How capable are the contract defenders? Horne is a three-term legislator, but it took five tries before he could pass the State Bar examination in 2004. When he was hired for his first $3,000 a month contract in July 2005, he was selected by three judges who he then appeared before regularly: Justice of the Peace Karen Bennett-Haron and District Judges Michelle Leavitt and Nancy Saitta.

The system of judges hiring attorneys smacks mightily of cronyism.

Did his position as an assemblyman help Horne land the job? Quite possibly. (The county policy requiring county employees to take leaves of absence to serve in the Legislature doesn't apply to him because he's not considered a county employee.)

District Judge Stewart Bell headed a committee to reform the contract defender system, including how they are hired. In the future, they will be selected by a committee, which will recommend attorneys based on merit as opposed to who you know.

But just as before, the person who gets the contract may have an associate do the work.

"I don't see the use of an associate as an issue at all," Bell said Thursday. A contract defender will be hired based on ability and experience. But if an associate is used, there's nothing wrong, he insisted.

He didn't know any of the details about Horne and Kilpatrick, and Leavitt, who could have evaluated their legal performances, declined to comment because of ongoing cases. (If Leavitt did comment and was critical, it could be fodder to overturn convictions in her courtroom.)

However, Bell insisted the person whose name is on the contract has to be responsible for the quality of the work.

So far, about 70 people have applied for the 36 contract defender jobs, including Horne, who is seeking his third one-year contract. The salary is expected to double to $6,000 a month, but the attorneys will have more responsibility for misdemeanors.

Let's hope these well-intended reforms make a difference. But if a contract defender can still hire a new lawyer with minimal experience, that seems like a gaping hole in the system.

Just how much damage to people charged with crimes can inexperienced attorneys do? We'll probably never know until there's some big legal problem and a case is overturned for inadequate legal representation.

I respect Bell's common sense, but I have to disagree with him on this one. Minimum requirements for contract defenders' associates should be set.

One month's experience isn't enough. William Horne should have recognized that reality. The fact he didn't speaks much about his judgment and proves my point.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call 383-0275.