Public defenders' office suffers from high turnover

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Judges and attorneys say high turnover in the Springfield public defenders' office has caused problems in the courtroom.

Eight of the office's nine attorneys -- including Jon Van Arkel, the district defender for 17 years -- have left in the past year. The 90 percent annual turnover rate in Springfield compares with a 21 percent turnover rate statewide for the fiscal year that ended in June.

"When you lose people like Michelle Law, with seven to 10 years experience with the public defender, or Jon Van Arkel, you can't ... replace them with someone just out of law school and have the same efficiency and knowledge," said Greene County Circuit Court Judge Calvin Holden.

Former Springfield public defenders said low pay and heavy workloads -- the office handled 3,094 cases between July 2000 and June 2001, compared with 1,925 cases between July 1994 and June 1995 -- drove them to leave their jobs.

"The pressures to try to visit clients, meet with clients and resolve serious felonies took a toll," said former assistant public defender Christopher Nielson, who is now an assistant prosecutor in Christian County.

"I'd wake up in the morning and think about who I had to visit, how I could get them out of jail and get some breathing room. I'd go to bed thinking the same thing. I carried that for well over a year. We lost so many senior staff, there's a point where you say it's not worth it," he said.