California Assembly Advances Bill Amid Public Defense Caseload Crisis
The California Assembly unanimously approved AB 2605, a measure requiring all counties to document and routinely report public defender caseloads to the state, marking the first statewide effort to address what advocates describe as a public defense caseload crisis. Concurrently, the Assembly passed AB 690, legislation designed to ban flat-fee contracts, which have led to excessive caseloads, and mandate separate funding allocations for investigators, social workers, and immigration counsel in indigent defense.
