The Missouri Public Defender System has a waiting list of about 2,000 low-income people requesting legal services.
Governor Parson’s next state budget proposal attempts to reduce that list by requesting 1.1 million dollars to hire 16 extra attorneys. During a House Budget Committee hearing this week, Director Mary Fox says the office’s caseload is growing the most in the outstate areas, especially southwest and southeast Missouri.
The system has nearly 400 lawyers handling about 90,000 cases annually.
