LAKEPORT >> After much debate over two options, the Lake County Board of Supervisors has asked for further investigation before signing an agreement with Lake Indigent Defense, Inc. as the contractor for public defenders.
Lake County’s current contractor, Lake Legal Defense Services, Inc., gave their 90 day notice to terminate and will serve their last day on May 6. The company decided to end their agreement when contract administrator Angela Carter resigned from her position.
Three firms applied to supply public defender services for the county: Richard A. Ciummo and Associates based in Madera County, Law Office of Joseph Ahart, Inc. based in Shasta County and the Lake Indigent Defense, Inc. (LID) from Lake County. The new contract will start on May 7 of this year and end on June 30, 2020 unless otherwise noted.
All applicants said they intend to open a local office in the area and hire lawyers to be available. Lake County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson put in the staff recommendation action to proceed with contract negotiations with Law office of Joseph M. Ahart, Inc.
“In staff’s estimation, the Ahart proposal is the most comprehensive and cost effective of the three,” Huchingson said. “We want to secure the best program for Lake County. A program that could be best ministered. Really, this decision rest with the Board.”
David Markham and Andrea Sullivan from LID were not recommended Sullivan did not meet the qualifications needed in the Request for Proposals (RFP). It required lawyers to have five years of criminal law experience and she will not reach that mark for another two months.
Yet the supervisors leaned in favor of LID.
Rob Brown, the District 5 Supervisor questioned why the administration staff did not go with the local proposal. With Sullivan’s experience and only two months left until she reaches her five year mark Brown stated that she would be a great candidate..
“For the experience that I’ve had on the fourth floor and cases that I’ve referred myself, if Ms. Sullivan was applying with this contract on her own I would still take it,” Brown said.
Ahart proposed to use four felony attorneys and three for misdemeanors, almost half of the 12 in the LID proposal. Ahart said when doing his investigation in the county and looking at the amount of cases, the number of lawyers he proposed would be enough.
“The case load itself is very much manageable. My plan is to draw attorneys that are used to that and plan to give them as much compensation to keep them on,” Ahart said. “Treat them well and they will do a great job for you.”
It is a county’s duty to provide a legal defense service to allow those who do not have lawyers to have one for their court cases. The contractor administers defense and other services that are necessary to provide constitutionally-effective assistance for criminal defendants.
“There is no way possible that we can get by with the number of attorneys that Ahart is proposing at this point,” Brown said. “Everybody agrees we just want the best system available that is required by law. The difference may be in numbers and proposals, but everyone has the same goal.”
He added that in 2016 there were over 900 felony cases and 2,300 misdemeanor cases in the county. He questioned whether seven defense attorneys could handle an additional load at the same pay rate.
Markham said when writing the proposal they did so with the consideration of the county and showing they care about those who live in it and who they serve. He partnered with Sullivan because of her background and her experience in the county.
“She (Sullivan) has a lot more to offer than the average attorney. She’s not the best partner I could’ve chosen, she’s the only partner I would’ve chosen to administer this contract,” Markham said.
Both proposals are in the $1.3 million range.
Ron Green, an attorney from Lower Lake, said it should be considered that an agreement with LID offers twice the number of available lawyers and a smoother transition between contracts.
District 2 Supervisor Jeff Smith said a different direction needs to be taken than what staff decided.
“We should direct staff to negotiate with Lake Indigent Defense. After everything I’ve heard, it sounds like Sullivan is a great individual that is only two months away from the qualification,” Smith said. “If we were taking proposals two months from now this would not even be a concern.”
Richard A. Ciummo and Associates was the highest cost proposal of the three applicants but did meet qualifications of the RFP. The county believed it would have to lay off employees to cover the cost of the contract.
