Virginia Indigent Defense Commission

Virginia Indigent Defense CommissionOrganization overview

Formed| 1972 as the Public Defender Commission
Preceding Organization|

* Public Defender Commission

Jurisdiction| Commonwealth of Virginia
Headquarters| 200-1604 Santa Rosa Rd,
Richmond, Virginia, 23229
Organization executive|

* Maria Jankowski[1], Executive Director

Parent Organization| Virginia General Assembly
Website| www.vadefenders.org

The Virginia Indigent Defense Commission (VIDC) provides legal defense to those accused of crimes unable to afford a private lawyer. VIDC operates 28 offices across the Commonwealth of Virginia.[2] VIDC also manages the certification of public defenders and court-appointed attorneys throughout Virginia and provides training to defense attorneys.[3]

VIDC relies on a non-traditional "holistic" approach that also sees attorneys arranging social supports, addiction services and other assistance for those accused of crime, to reduce recidivism rates.[4]

## History

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### Public Defender Commission (1972–2004)

[edit]

In 1972, the Virginia General Assembly piloted two Public Defender offices to determine if they would work better than appointing private attorneys to cases with indigent clients.[5] The Staunton office was opened first, followed by the Virginia Beach office a few months later.[5] The first chief public defender of the Staunton office, Coy M. Kiser, Jr. started the office with one investigator, a secretary, and two part-time assistant public defenders.[5] Kiser was appointed to a judgeship two years later and was replaced by William E. Bobbitt, who served in the Staunton office for over thirty years.[5]

### Virginia Indigent Defense Commission (2004–present)

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Following the American Bar Association's "scathing report on the state of indigent defense in Virginia",[6] the VIDC was established by statute in 2004 and replaced the Public Defender Commission.[7][8] The VIDC replaced court-appointed lawyers in death penalty cases with full-time public defenders.[9] David Johnson was named Executive Director of the agency in 2005.[2]

In 2020, several VIDC employees attended a protest in Portsmouth and three were charged with felony vandalism of a Confederate monument, alongside state senator Louise Lucas, and three NAACP representatives.[10][11] Judge Claire G. Cardwell dismissed the charges in November 2020.[10][12] Cardwell determined that police went around prosecutors to file charges and attempted to prevent Commonwealth's Attorney Stephanie Morales from prosecuting the case by subpoenaing her as a witness.[12][13] The three public defenders and eight others received settlement checks from the city for $15,000 each.[12][14]

In March 2021, Virginia banned capital punishment and VIDC announced that the capital defense offices located in Vienna, Norfolk, Roanoke, and Richmond would close.[15]

In September 2022, Maria Jankowski was promoted from Deputy Executive Director of VIDC to Executive Director after David Johnson retired.[3] Timothy Coyne, the former Chief Public Defender for the Winchester and Front Royal offices, was named to replace Jankowski as Deputy Executive Director of the commission.[3]

In 2023 it was revealed that some of the offices were struggling with workload, with 30% fewer lawyers than expected and each one handling up to 200 cases.[16] As of November 2023, VIDC had 28 offices that were staffed to cover approximately 72% of the court-appointed caseload.[17]

## Locations

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* Alexandria
* Arlington County
* Bedford
* Charlottesville
* Chesapeake
* Chesterfield[18]
* Danville
* Fairfax
* Franklin
* Fredericksburg \- serves Stafford, Spotsylvania, and King George counties[19]

* Front Royal \- serves Shenandoah, Warren, and Page counties
* Halifax
* Hampton
* Leesburg \- serves Loudoun County
* Lexington
* Lynchburg
* Martinsville
* Newport News
* Norfolk
* Petersburg

* Portsmouth
* Prince William County
* Pulaski
* Richmond
* Roanoke
* Staunton \- serves Augusta and Rockbridge counties
* Suffolk
* Virginia Beach
* Warrenton
* Winchester \- serves Frederick County and Clarke County

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## Notable employees and former employees

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* Claire G. Cardwell, judge for the Thirteenth Circuit of Virginia[20]
* Coy M. Kiser, Jr. (1933-2012), first public defender in Virginia and judge in the General District Court of the 25th Judicial District of Virginia[5]
* Brenda Spry, judge for the Third Circuit of Virginia[10]

## References

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1. ^ "Jankowski to helm Indigent Defense Commission | Virginia Lawyers Weekly". 12 September 2022.
2. ^ a b Bowes, Mark (July 30, 2021). "Petersburg's chief public defender retires; his deputy will succeed him". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
3. ^ a b c Bowes, Mark (September 9, 2022). "Virginia Indigent Defense Commission selects new executive leader". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
4. ^ "Virginia public defenders adopting 'holistic' approach to combat recidivism • Virginia Mercury". 21 June 2019.
5. ^ a b c d e "Local public defender's office celebrates half-century". The News Virginian. November 3, 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
6. ^ Gould, Jon B.. The Innocence Commission: Preventing Wrongful Convictions and Restoring the Criminal Justice System. United Kingdom, NYU Press, 2009\. p.32
7. ^ Hodge, Ashley (April 1, 2021). "After nearly three decades of service to county, public defender steps down". The Gazette-Virginian. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
8. ^ "§ 19.2-163.01. Virginia Indigent Defense Commission established; powers and duties". Code of Virginia. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
9. ^ Brumfield, Dale M. (May 7, 2021). "How Virginia's Death Penalty Finally Ended". Washington Monthly. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
10. ^ a b c Matray, Margaret (January 27, 2021). "Portsmouth's top public defender named a judge, months after police charged her in Confederate monument case". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
11. ^ Alvarez-Wertz, Jane (August 17, 2020). "Sen. Lucas, other public officials, charged with felonies for June incident at Portsmouth Confederate monument". Wavy. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
12. ^ a b c Reyes, Josh (November 8, 2021). "10 arrested after vandalism of Confederate monument receive $15,000 each". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
13. ^ "Charges dismissed against Sen. Lucas". Richmond Free Press. November 19, 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
14. ^ Hall, Brett (November 6, 2021). "Portsmouth spends $150k to settle with 10 charged with Confederate monument destruction". Wavy. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
15. ^ King, Brendan (March 24, 2021). "Capital defender offices to close after Virginia abolishes the death penalty". 6 Richmond News. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
16. ^ "High caseloads, staffing shortages, pay inequities: Chesterfield public defenders in need of relief". 12 May 2023.
17. ^ Kutner, Brad (November 14, 2023). "Report: Virginia's indigent defense system is in trouble". WVTF. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
18. ^ Bowes, Mark (October 5, 2021). "Chesterfield Public Defender staff moves into new office as they begin representing criminal defendants". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
19. ^ "Whitley selected as Fredericksburg public defender". Free Lance-Star. June 19, 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
20. ^ "Claire Cardwell Presented with Carrico Professionalism Award". Virginia State Bar. February 11, 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2022.