Thank you, lawmakers, for money to boost equal justice in RI courts | Opinion
Collin M. Geiselman is Rhode Island’s chief public defender. He has been an attorney with the Office of Public Defender since 2003. He is also an adjunct professor at Roger Williams University School of Law.
On March 12, The Providence Journal published an article by Katie Mulvaney regarding the vast salary divide between the state attorneys who prosecute crimes and state attorneys who defend clients charged with crimes ("Public defender seeks $600K from lawmakers to narrow salary divide"). Currently, the average attorney general criminal attorney salary is over $18,000 greater than the average public defender attorney salary. This gross imbalance threatened the bedrock of our judicial system, namely equal justice under the law.
Furthermore, the imbalance caused substantial recruitment and retention problems at the Office of the Public Defender and caused the unavailability of public defenders in the Newport and Washington County district courts for several months last year. The cases that would have been represented by the public defender’s office had to be referred back to the judiciary for appointment of private counsel at a substantial increased cost to the state. The Office of the Public Defender sought to begin to address this problem by proposing attorney wage increases in the budget for fiscal year 2025.
As the 2024 General Assembly session draws to a close, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude on behalf of myself and the Office of the Public Defender to the legislators who championed our cause. Thanks to their unwavering support, we are on the verge of securing additional funding to increase our legal staff and address the critical issues of turnover and recruitment. This will allow us to offer competitive wages to our attorneys and mitigate the disparity in compensation compared to those in the Office of the Attorney General’s Criminal Division.
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I am especially grateful to House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and the leadership teams of both the House and Senate, as well as the chairs and members of the House and Senate Finance committees. Their willingness to engage with us and support our mission has made this funding possible. Additionally, I want to acknowledge the core group of legislators who were our most vocal advocates, as well as the near-universal support we received from both House and Senate members.
We are deeply thankful to these elected officials for recognizing that public safety encompasses more than just law enforcement funding. By ensuring proper funding for public defense, they help prevent injustices such as wrongful convictions and contribute to the overall well-being of our community.
Public defenders are a critical check against the power of the government, are vital in the fight for racial equality within the criminal legal system, and an integral partner in ending the plague of mass incarceration, which disproportionately impacts people of color. With over 80% of Americans arrested unable to afford a private attorney, public defenders play an essential role in ensuring justice for all.
This funding will empower us to recruit and retain dedicated, passionate attorneys, enhancing our ability to serve Rhode Islanders during their greatest times of need. Every person deserves an equal opportunity to be heard and seen.
Thank you to all the legislators who made this possible.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: The average attorney general criminal attorney salary is greater than the average public defender's. This imbalance threatens equal justice.
