One of just a handful of states with no border-to-border indigent defense entity, South Dakota is looking to better serve clients and find more efficiency in its public defense system.
Indigent defense, or public defense, is the constitutionally mandated legal representation of those without the ability to pay. South Dakota is one of two states in America that places that entire financial burden on counties.
The report, performed by the Sixth Amendment Center, was published Monday. The first of its ten findings argues that county-first policy forces indigent services to be offered at affordable levels before meeting the county’s actual indigent defense needs.
That disparity becomes particularly stark when living outside one of the state's largest counties.
Pennington, Minnehaha and Lawrence counties have official public defenders’ offices. Fifteen counties contract out the job, while the remaining 48 counties are forced to find a court-appointed attorney.
That becomes a challenge in less populous counties. Take Fall River County, for example. The Black Hills county is home to 7,400 people, and the report tallies fewer than 10 attorneys within its boundaries.
That leads to yet another report finding: inconsistencies from county to county, and judge to judge, which can chill a defendant’s right to council. That in turn, according to the report, can lead a client to waive their right to council and a trial, thus denying their Sixth Amendment rights.
In turn, the report recommends barring prosecutors from speaking with unrepresented defendants who have not yet waived their right to council.
The entire report, which also recommends a yearly appropriation dedicated to indigent services, can be found here.