DENVER — On the cusp of the Labor Day weekend, a group of public defenders says a crisis has been plaguing the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender.
“The pay makes it hard to stick around when the workload is what it is,” said Carly Hamilton, who is among organizers who’ve formed the Defenders Union of Colorado (DUC).
“We’ve just seen so many talented, dedicated defenders, from all working groups -- attorneys, investigators, social workers and administrative -- leave during the pandemic,” Hamilton said.
One of those workers is Shannon Carson, who recently quit her public defender job after 12 years in Adams County.
“I was already working long hours and not taking breaks,” Carson told 9NEWS.
Carson said she couldn’t effectively represent her clients as well as they deserved under the law because she was juggling 126 felony cases at the same time.
“It had just reached such a breaking point, with so much being asked of me and my colleagues, that it couldn't go on that way. I was starting to take years off my life. I was worried,” Carson said.
“This movement arises as workers describe a broken system where crushing workloads, insufficient pay for core staff, and soaring attrition undermine their ability to effectively represent and serve the indigent,” the DUC said in its first media statement.
Hamilton, who is a state public defender, acknowledged the DUC does not have collective bargaining power under state law in Colorado, but said the group hopes the state will still listen and make crucial changes.
Other unions, such as teacher unions in Colorado, have collective bargaining rights established in state law, which requires school districts to negotiate with those unions.
“And we just can’t wait to get those rights under the law. And that’s why we are here starting now. We need change immediately,” Hamilton said.
9NEWS reached out to the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender, but did not receive a response.
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