From 2013 to 2021, 47% of all arrests in Pender County were for low-level, non-violent offenses and 90% of people in jail were being held without being convicted.
Pender County public defenders are happy to say since the office’s opening last year there has been a decrease in wait time and those held in custody without a conviction, since clients are able to receive more robust legal representation — which, for a county where 8.4 percent of residents live under the poverty line, is much needed.
Defendants who lack the financial resources for a private attorney and other litigation expenses are specified as indigent. At that point, public defenders step in once appointed by a trial judge who assesses the defendant’s income, assets, and debt.
Chief Public Defender Jennifer Harjo, established the New Hanover County office in 2008, giving residents equitable access to legal aid. But Harjo said it took years to bring this same service to Pender County. That was problematic, because residents' legal literacy wasn't always the best, and there were a lot of misconceptions about how the court process worked.
“Maybe some people just don't understand that they need to ask for an attorney. Sometimes the judges even tell them, 'if you can't afford one, I'll appoint you one.' So they think, okay, I'll get an attorney, and then they get stuck at the jail without a lawyer, their court dates come and go, and they have no one to talk to," Harjo said.
Assistant public defender Bud Woodrum said the office is staffed with two full-time defense attorneys and has been successful in achieving what it set out to do.
“In terms of success and being able to efficiently resolve cases both for the benefit of our clients and to create less of a burden on the taxpayer, I think we are successful in that regard, I think that we're probably one of the more cost-efficient public defenders offices in the state," he said.
Caiti Rottman, one of Pender County’s public defense lawyers, said many public defenders joke that “we’re not real lawyers," compared to private attorneys who earn a retainer to cover their overhead costs, oftentimes by letting a client’s charges stay pending longer than they need to.
“When you're a paid attorney, well, we call them real lawyers… sometimes it is strategic to just let things draw out a little longer, because kind of earning your retainer or the money that you're making, but we don't have any interest in our clients sitting anywhere longer than they need to,” Rottman said.
[Editor's note: Rottman was speaking about some lawyers, in general, not specific attorneys in Pender County; her remarks don't reflect the opinion of Harjo or the Public Defender's office. Harjo said the Pender County Defense Bar "has not prolonged incarceration to get paid."]
Rottman said the motivation for their office to resolve cases and reduce sentences helps alleviate overcrowding in the Pender County jail, and their constant monitoring of cases keeps clients from falling through the cracks of the legal system.
Though the office has lived up to their mission of catering to indigent clients, Harjo and Woodrum both agree there are resources that the office still needs in order to work optimally.
Currently, the Pender County office lacks an in-house mitigation specialist who can provide personalized information on clients’ backgrounds and experiences to help reduce prison sentences.
Harjo and Woodrum also said the community as a whole needs greater access to specialized mental health care and substance abuse services, given that many repeat offenders cycle through the legal system because of underlying challenges that can’t be solved with a jail sentence.
“I don't think there's anything in this article that can make people believe that we're real lawyers,” said Rottman. “But we do our very best to try to change the reputation that public defenders have. Sure everybody in my office… could go out and be a real lawyer, but we do this because it's what we love to do.”
This article has been updated to clarify some remarks, and to note that Pender County has three not two public defenders.
