Public Defense, Board of

Appellate Office

Statewide Outcome(s):

The Appellate Office supports the following statewide outcome(s).

People in Minnesota are safe.

Context:

By providing quality representation, the Appellate Office helps ensure that legislation and court decisions are based on sound constitutional principles thus protecting the rights of all of our citizens. The Appellate Office is dedicated to the principle that all clients are entitled to equal access to justice, and quality representation. The goals for the Appellate Office are to provide excellent client-centered representation to clients in criminal appeals, post-conviction proceedings in the District courts, and supervised release/parole revocations hearings.

Increased penalties and stronger enforcement have resulted in a significant increase in the population of the state’s prisons and jails. The Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) records indicate that as of January 1, 2012 there were 9,345 inmates in the state’s correctional facilities. This population is the majority of the client base for the Appellate Office.

The Appellate Office is funded completely by a general fund appropriation.

Strategies:

The five goals established by the Board of Public Defense to assist the program to carry out its mission are:

·         client-centered representation,

·         creative advocacy,

·         continual training for all staff,

·         recruitment and retention of excellent staff, and

·         being partners in the justice system.

The Appellate Office has implemented quality representation guidelines, which are incorporated into attorney practice. A commitment to team defense includes the use of support staff, developing theories and arguments and developing oral arguments through mock hearings. The Office also sponsors an appellate practice workshop where attorneys bring actual cases they are working on and develop theories of the case.

The Appellate Office is also working with the Department of Corrections to achieve efficiencies in the conducting of supervised release revocation hearings without compromising the quality of representation.

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Results:

The practice of criminal law does not readily lend itself to numerical results. However, the Appellate Office is in the process of incorporating quality representation guidelines into attorney practice. This will include data on oral arguments as well as client visits. The office is also in the process of conducting a client satisfaction survey.

Between 2011 and 2012 the office experienced;

·         A 14 percent increase in oral arguments

·         An 11 percent increase in tried cases where a brief was filed

·         An increase of 500 DOC hearings.

Performance Measures Notes: