“Did you know that public defenders are the only part of the criminal judicial system that are guaranteed in the Constitution?” the writers ask. (iStock/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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We write in response to a Jan. 27 commentary by Minnesota Chief Justice Lorie S. Gildea ("Justice, public safety at risk without full funding"). Public defenders were encouraged that our plea for pay parity and caseload controls was heard. We have been severely underfunded and overworked for decades. We have often had a lonely fight in trying to get adequate funding and caseload relief. We are excited to finally not be a lone wolf in this fight, as we are often used to.

Did you know that public defenders are the only part of the criminal judicial system that are guaranteed in the Constitution? We are enshrined in the Sixth Amendment — your right to an attorney. Even more significant is that this year is the 60th anniversary of the Supreme Court case deciding that states have an obligation to pay for your attorney if you cannot afford it. The landmark case was Gideon v. Wainright, and it showed the importance of how an attorney can help your case. It would be truly historic for Minnesota to pass pay parity and caseload relief on the 60th anniversary of the case that obligated states to pay for your attorney.

On Feb. 6, the Minnesota House voted unanimously to pass Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn's bill to increase funding to the Minnesota Board of Public Defense. This was an epic victory for the rights of every Minnesotan, but we're not finished.

Pay parity will solve the problem of multiple prosecutor offices paying their employees more than public defenders; those employers are direct competitors for our office, and every month we lose experienced attorneys to the prosecution and private practice. Public defenders are simply asking to be paid the same as the attorneys who do the same work as us, just on a different side of the law.

Additionally, we need caseload relief, as every public defender statewide has more cases than the American Bar Association recommends. Even more important to remember is that the ABA's 1991 recommendation was made before the prevalence of body-worn cameras for most, if not all, departments. Watching body-camera footage for every case increases the amount of work exponentially each year.

Now let's talk numbers. The Board of Public Defense requested $37.7 million in 2024 and $77.9 million in 2025, for a total of $115.6 million. As of this writing, the latest numbers in the Minnesota budget are for $42.7 million in 2024 and $52.7 million in 2025, for a total of $95.6 million. This is a discrepancy of $20 million, for pay parity and caseload relief. Full funding was just a start, and we hope the Legislature will give us the full funding for that start. We are still in a position where it can do so.

We cannot fail to mention our incredible investigators, legal assistants, dispositional advisors and paralegals who also desperately need caseload relief. The public defender system includes all of these, as we cannot truly defend a case without a wholistic defense team. The $115.6 million requested would also provide a pay increase and caseload relief to these individuals as well.

If that money is allocated, we can truly look at the number of cases each attorney has and create updated recommendations for caseload relief based off the data. The public defender system is collapsing, and we need resources and an ongoing commitment to fully fund our system. We are in a unique moment when public defenders, judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, legislators and the news are all in agreement — public defenders need more resources to provide a true adequate defense.

Brian Aldes is secretary-treasurer and principal officer, Teamsters Local 320. Chelsea Reinartz is an assistant public defender in Ramsey County.