Public Defenders

The office has $200,000 more in its budget than it did about five months ago. The chief defender used the new money to raise salaries to retain existing lawyers and fill vacancies.

Detainees in the City Justice Center last year waited an average of 146 days before getting a preliminary hearing. District Defender Matthew Mahaffey discussed how practices by the Circuit Attorney's Office have contributed to long stays at the jail, which has been cited as a factor in recent unrest there.

Cole County Circuit Court Judge William E. Hickle ruled last month that the Missouri Office of State Public Defender violated the constitutional rights of indigent people awaiting trial by forcing them to wait for weeks, and even months, before being assigned an attorney. Tony Rothert of the ACLU of Missouri and state Rep. Tony Lovasco discussed what comes next on "St. Louis on the Air."

After spending nearly 15 years in courtrooms as the lead public defender in St. Louis, Mary Fox has a new job.Last month, she became head of Missouri’s…

A federal judge has refused to sign off on a deal that would cap the number of cases Missouri’s public defenders are allowed to handle. U.S. District...

Criminal-justice reform advocates and public defenders are calling on the St. Louis circuit court to reduce its use of monitoring systems that require…

The Missouri House of Representatives is considering whether private attorneys across the state should handle more cases where the defendant cannot afford…

Starting May 1, newer attorneys at private law firms in the St. Louis area will help the state’s overloaded public defender office.Richard Scherrer, one…

Updated at 10:30 a.m. March 9 with comments from Michael Barrett — A new lawsuit alleges the state of Missouri routinely violates the rights of people who…

The head of Missouri's Office of the State Public Defender has been seeking more money for years, to no avail. Now, he says it's crucial: Outposts around…