Public defenders and state attorneys are concerned that further budget cuts from the Legislature would leave them unable to handle all their cases, including addressing trial backlogs from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prosecutors and defenders are already dealing with a 1.5% per quarter, or 6% annual, budget “withholding” and legislators as part of annual budget exercises have asked them to project how they would deal with further 8.5% and 10% budget cuts.

The answer is, not well.