Public Defense Eligibility Criteria

This so surprised me that I decided to dig around in the online versions of the Wisconsin Statutes. The free online version of the Statutes is not entirely up-to-date, but it's a good starting point. The site is here. Wis. Stats. ch. 977 establishes a public defender board and grants it rulemaking authority. Sections 977.06-977.07 outline the determination process and criteria, and 977.07(2m), 977.075, and 977.076 suggest that the notion of "free" legal service from the public defender may be a myth. Section 977.07(2m) contains cross-references to several provisions requiring repayment or reimbursement, the most powerful of which appears to be Wis. Stats. sect. 757.66. The text of that provision, in full, reads:

757.66 Recovery of legal fees paid for indigent defendants. Whenever a county or the state has paid for legal representation of an indigent defendant and the county board or the department of justice so requires, the clerk of the court where representation for the indigent was appointed shall prepare, sign and record in the office of the register of deeds a certificate stating the name and residence of the indigent beneficiary, the amount paid by the county or the state for his or her legal representation, the date when paid, the court and county in which the case was heard and such other information as the county board directs. If a certificate is recorded within 6 months after payment is made by the county or the state it may, within the time after the recording provided by s. 893.86, commence an action to recover from the indigent defendant, or his or her estate if the action is commenced within the time set for filing claims by creditors, the amount paid by the county or the state for his or her legal representation. In any such action ss. 859.02 and 893.86, so far as applicable, may be pleaded in defense. The claim shall not take precedence over the allowances in ss. 861.31, 861.33 and 861.35. The district attorney or the department of justice, as applicable, shall commence and prosecute all actions and proceedings necessary under this section to make the recovery when it appears that the indigent defendant or his or her estate is able to pay the claim.

I admit to having no idea how often "the county board or the department of justice . . . require[]" that indigents repay, but the claim has a limitation of ten years, see id., sect. 893.86. I can understand how they might want repayment if an indigent defendant were suddenly to possess a lot of cash, but how often does that really happen?

A quick glance at the regulation suggests that the rates are low (at least compared to commercially available legal service) and there are standards to determine whether someone can pay, meaning that not everyone will in fact be required to repay. However, the same quick glance suggests that an individual making as little as $300 a month may be required to pay some of the public defender's fees. (I looked at PD 6.02 and 6.025 and the cross-reference to the table in Wis. Stats. sect. 49.19(11)(a)1.) I'm curious to learn how other statutes and the Wisconsin Public Defender Board's regulations about repayment function when applied, but I haven't got the time to research the matter tonight.

Chapter 3 of the PD rules, "Indigency Criteria," reveal more complexity than the Journal-Sentinel article suggests, but the criteria there appear strict and the qualifying numbers small.

I'm too tired to dig around in the statutes and regulations more right now, but I'd be curious to hear more. I'm going to have to research how Colorado's system works (or doesn't).