Article by David Alire Garcia
Appeared in the Santa Fe Reporter
March 14-20, 2007

Public lawyers lobby for independence.


They say they’re overloaded, outgunned and under the thumb of the governor. Many are even afraid to speak their minds.

Now, rank-and-file public defenders—the lawyers of last resort to the poor—have taken their case for reform to the Legislature in the form of House Bill 348.

The measure, sponsored by Rep. Al Park, D-Bernalillo, chairman of the House Judiciary committee, would establish an 11-member Public Defender Commission to oversee the state’s 160

John Bigelow, the current chief public defender appointed by Richardson, opposes the bill to create a Public Defender Commission. (Photo courtesy Public Defenders Office.)

public defenders and appoint the chief public defender. Currently the governor appoints the chief public defender.

“Criminal defense lawyers need to be truly independent,” Ray Twohig, a private attorney agitating for the proposal, says. He argues that HB 348 would better insulate public defenders from political pressures and conflicts of interest. HB 348 passed the full House on March 1 and cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee. However, the legislative session ends on March 16 and, even if passed, it’s unclear if Gov. Bill Richardson would sign the bill.

Further, John Bigelow, the chief public defender under three governors and Richardson’s appointee, opposes it.

“I don’t think you should try to fix things that aren’t broken,” Bigelow tells SFR.

Although an Albuquerque Journal story March 11 depicted the bill as a means to secure greater funding for public defenders, many advocates say the larger issue is the need for greater autonomy. In testimony last week, former Santa Fe public defender Trace Rabern explained how a few years ago she successfully defended a client by arguing that recently passed DWI penalties advocated by Richardson were nullified by a procedural glitch.

“John [Bigelow] came down to the office and came unglued,” Rabern claims. “‘How could you take a position that is so contrary to the governor’s agenda?’” she remembers him shouting. “That showed me that there’s a direct conflict,” she adds.

Bigelow disputes Rabern’s story: “That’s inaccurate and nonsense,” he says.

Jane Yee, another former Santa Fe public defender, tells SFR that when she sued the state Corrections Department on behalf of indigent inmates, she felt pressured to quickly settle the cases.

Bigelow counters that “we were all trying to reach a settlement agreement that was mutually satisfactory to all those involved. And, as I recall, we did.”

Advocates also argue that an independent body will more effectively lobby for needed funds; the current budget for public defenders is $36 million. Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Valencia, himself a contract public defender, tells SFR he hasn’t made up his mind on the bill. “I’m very well aware of the problems and what they go though,” he says.

Jon Goldstein, a spokesman for Gov. Bill Richardson, tells SFR Richardson doesn’t believe the measure would bring in more money, but stops short of saying the governor opposes the bill altogether.

Such a change could put New Mexico more in line with the rest of the country. Homer Robinson, the staff attorney at the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty who authored HB 348, says more than 30 states have some form of a commission in place. Robinson characterizes public defenders as “heroes” who need more resources.

“They’re on the front lines,” he says. “They’re defending the most unpopular element in society.” When they’re overloaded, Robinson adds, “poor people just sit and languish in jail.”

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