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Nine defendants in Lake Charles, who have been in jail awaiting trials for up to two years, filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging Louisiana's system of defending poor people accused of crimes. The long-threatened legal action was filed in Calcasieu Parish, where public defenders represent 400 defendants apiece and, the lawsuit claims, can't possibly do an adequate job for those clients. The lawsuit is just the opening shot of a war, backed by powerful legal interests, against the state's public-defender system. Lawsuits in other parishes are expected. "We're seeking a declaration that the system is broken and an order requiring it to be fixed," said attorney William Jeffress of Washington, D.C., part of the legal team handling the lawsuit. The Calcasieu Parish lawsuit seeks no specific remedies, and no action is expected for some time. More public defenders, paid higher salaries, has been cited as one solution. The state board that hands out state money for public defenders got only $7.8 million this year, a third of what the state Supreme Court recommended. Critics say the system also relies too much on unreliable local revenue. [more

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