The future of a pilot program providing public defenders in Mississippi’s rural counties is now in the hands of a legislative conference committee. The Mississippi Senate approved an amended version of House Bill 1930 that includes funding for the second year of the three-year initiative, which supplies resources to counties lacking robust public defender services.
The House declined to concur with the Senate’s amendments Wednesday and has invited a conference committee to resolve the differences. Wednesday marked the 63rd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, which established the right to counsel for those charged with serious crimes who cannot afford an attorney.
The pilot program operates in Mississippi’s Fifth Circuit Court District, covering Attala, Winston, Montgomery and Grenada counties, where new public defenders handle about a third of felony cases. In Carroll, Choctaw and Webster counties, the defenders address conflicts that prevent existing attorneys from representing clients, according to state officials.
State Public Defender André de Gruy said the program is “a new approach” tailored for counties with populations under 50,000. The second-year funding request is $838,000 for four lawyers, an investigator and two support staff. The Senate’s proposal offers $778,677.
Colleen Metzger, executive director of the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center at Southern Methodist University, called the program “a model for the nation” and praised its early results. She said lawyers involved in the pilot are providing continuous legal representation within 24 hours of arrest, which is uncommon in other states.
In its first five months, the program represented 84 clients facing felony charges. Metzger noted that early intervention led to the resolution of 31 cases without a felony conviction and helped clients access substance abuse and mental health treatment. She highlighted a case where a judge reduced a $1 million bond to $50,000 after deeming the prosecution’s case weak.
Mississippi has few counties with full-time public defender offices. In counties without such offices, attorneys can be paid up to $3,000 per felony case plus expenses. A 2018 report by the Sixth Amendment Center found Mississippi lacks a permanent oversight system to ensure effective counsel, making it the only southeastern state without a statewide defender system or oversight.
De Gruy said the pilot has helped overburdened public defenders perform better, and data collection is ongoing to demonstrate its success. Metzger expressed pride in the program’s progress, emphasizing its potential as a national model.
