蒙大拿州大瀑布市法院公共辩护人积压加剧，被告等待时间过长

蒙大拿州大瀑布市法院法官指出，州公共辩护人办公室（OPD）的人员短缺与案件积压导致被告等待指派律师的时间过长 1。目前，大瀑布市法院被告等待辩护律师的平均时间为13.7天，被告在狱中等待超过20天才被指派律师的情况并不罕见 1。此外，每周约有两起案件因被告没有律师而需推迟听证 1。

OPD承认面临职位空缺、合同律师短缺和案件量增长的挑战，导致案件审理延迟和法院日程紧张 1。人员配置方面，2024年11名专职律师处理了598起案件，次年936起案件仅由5名专职律师处理，案件量增加56% 1。在2025财年，OPD在80%的案件中在14天内指派了辩护律师，但5727名客户未能在两周内获得律师，平均等待时间长达50天 1。

Judges at the Great Falls City Court in Montana have reported that staffing shortages and case backlogs within the state's Office of Public Defender (OPD) are causing excessive wait times for defendants seeking appointed counsel 1. It is not uncommon for defendants to wait in jail for more than 20 days before being assigned an attorney, and approximately two cases per week require postponed hearings due to the lack of legal representation 1. Currently, the average wait time for a public defender at the Great Falls City Court stands at 13.7 days 1.

The OPD has acknowledged that it is grappling with vacant positions, a shortage of contract attorneys, and a growing caseload, which collectively lead to delayed case proceedings and strained court schedules 1. During the 2025 fiscal year, the office managed to assign defense attorneys within 14 days for 80% of its cases 1. However, 5,727 clients failed to secure a lawyer within two weeks, facing an average wait time of up to 50 days 1. This strain is highlighted by a significant shift in staffing and workload: in 2024, 11 staff attorneys handled 598 cases, whereas the following year saw the caseload increase by 56% to 936 cases, which were managed by only five staff attorneys 1.