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Office of Public Defenders to enter into collective bargaining – Daily Montanan

['Keith Schubert', 'More From Author', '- April']

Date: 2022-05 

The Montana Office of Public Defenders announced on Thursday that is opening negotiations with the public defender union to address pay disparities in an effort to resolve case backlog and staffing shortages.

“Providing critically needed resources to address some of OPD’s long-standing pay issues, today’s actions mark the most significant investment in public defense in Montana since OPD was founded in 2005,” the department said in a press release announcing the move.

The inability to hire public defenders, specifically in Yellowstone County, has paralyzed the department in recent months leading to a significant case backlog. Yellowstone County District Court Judge Donald Harris twice held the office in contempt of court over unassigned cases in the county. The office challenged Harris’ decision to the Montana Supreme Court in late March, arguing Harris exceeded his authority. When the office appeared before a legislative committee in September, it had 691 unassigned cases across the state, with about 40 percent of cases existing in Billings alone.

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