Pennsylvania’s Underfunding of Public Defender System Deprives Poor Residents of Right to Counsel, Class Action Claims

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges Pennsylvania has systematically and unconstitutionally failed to provide adequate representation to individuals charged with crimes who cannot afford to hire their own attorneys.

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The 152-page lawsuit—filed against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, state Senate President Pro Tempore Kim L. Ward and state House Speaker Joanna McClinton—argues that this systemic failure stems from the state’s decision to delegate virtually all its responsibilities for indigent defense services to the counties.

“This approach to indigent defense funding has failed,” the filing claims, stating that many counties in Pennsylvania lack the financial resources necessary to adequately support and manage these services. Pennsylvania’s abdication of its indigent defense responsibilities has left county public defender and conflict counsel offices without the time, training, staffing, resources and experience to properly advocate for all their clients, the complaint stresses.

As a result, the complaint argues, impoverished individuals accused of crimes in Pennsylvania regularly face prosecution without effective counsel at each stage of their case. The lawsuit says that in some counties, it’s common for those who can’t afford private lawyers to go entirely unrepresented.

Pennsylvania’s failure to ensure that county-based indigent defense services are properly funded has led to widespread violations of criminal defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to an attorney, the suit contends.

“Across Pennsylvania’s indigent defense system, the traditional markers of effective representation are absent or significantly compromised: indigent defendants are often unable to communicate consistently or confidentially with their attorneys; overwhelming caseloads prevent indigent defense attorneys from adequately investigating the facts, researching legal issues, filing appropriate pretrial motions, and preparing for critical-stage proceedings; expert witnesses are rarely engaged; and counsel negotiate plea deals without first learning about their clients and the circumstances of their alleged crimes,” the case says.

The filing notes that excluding Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is tied with Mississippi for the lowest funded state indigent defense system on a per capita basis. Although the state’s 2023-2024 budget has allocated $6.75 million in grant funding to support the improvement of indigent defense services throughout all 67 counties, Pennsylvania would still have to pay an additional $100 million to match the national average for per-capita state spending on indigent defense, the filing alleges. It would also need to hire at least 649 full-time equivalent attorneys to meet national workload standards, the suit says. 

The lawsuit was filed by 17 residents who have faced criminal charges in the state and say they’ve felt the harmful effects of Pennsylvania’s underfunded and understaffed indigent defense system. One plaintiff claims that, as of early June 2024, he hasn’t spoken to his public defender attorney since being arrested and detained at the Lebanon County Correctional Facility on February 7, 2024. Another plaintiff says that after his numerous attempts to get in touch with his public defender attorney were ignored, he decided to file a motion to dismiss his charges without legal representation. During a court hearing for that motion, the plaintiff’s attorney withdrew from his cases without first consulting with him, the case says.

The lawsuit looks to represent any indigent individuals who are now facing, or will in the future face, criminal charges brought by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the penalty for which includes the possibility of confinement in a jail or correctional facility (regardless of whether actually imposed) and who do, or will, qualify for appointed representation under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article I, Section 9 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

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