BY SARIT LASCHINSKY

Special to The Press

Lehigh County’s 2021 Citizens Academy webinar series recently featured a presentation by Chief Public Defender Kimberly Makoul, from the Lehigh County Office of the Public Defender.

Makoul was appointed by then-Lehigh County Executive Tom Muller in 2014 as the first full-time chief public defender.

She explained the history and duties of public defenders in general, and their role within Lehigh County specifically.

Makoul noted a landmark case concerning the history of legal counsel and representation in the United States was the case of Gideon v. Wainwright in 1963.

Defendant Clarence Gideon was charged in Florida State Court with intent to commit a misdemeanor but appeared in court without sufficient funds or counsel.

Gideon asked the court to appoint counsel, which was denied because Florida law permitted appointment for indigent defendants only in capital cases.

So, Gideon conducted his own defense and was convicted and sentenced to prison.

Makoul noted, however, that Gideon appealed and asked for a writ of habeas corpus on the grounds the refusal to grant counsel violated his Constitutional rights.

The case eventually went to the federal Supreme Court, where the court appointed an attorney for Gideon.

Makoul said the court’s opinion was that in the United States criminal justice system, any person too poor to hire a lawyer cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided.

“This is the first time the United States Supreme Court held that in all state prosecutions ... where there is the potential loss of liberty, you have the right to have a court-appointed attorney if you cannot afford an attorney,” she said.

Regarding the history of Lehigh County’s public defenders, Makoul said that in response to the Gideon ruling the Lehigh County Bar Association worked with the courts to form a system of “voluntary defenders,” who were usually the newest members of the bar and were required to be in criminal courts to receive appointments to represent indigent individuals.

Makoul said the attorneys were not paid for their services and likened the experience to “sort of a rite of passage.”

She added her father had served as a voluntary defender right out of law school.

“This is one of the things he had to do,” she explained.

Makoul said there were several problems with the system as lawyers were often appointed the day of a client’s trial.

“That’s not an adequate system. There’s no time to prepare,” she said. “There’s no time to call witnesses.”

She said the county subsequently formed the public defender’s office to represent indigent people charged with offenses.

Makoul discussed the public defender’s duties.

“[They] endeavor to protect the rights of our clients by providing holistic, vigorous, compassionate and ethical level representation to individuals who cannot afford to pay for an attorney,” Makoul said.

She emphasized the county’s public defenders are well-trained, attended law school and passed the bar exam.

Makoul added the attorneys participate in numerous training opportunities to gain not only trial skills but also experience in evidence collection, expert witnesses and social services, among other topics.

“We try to make our attorneys have a wide variety of training opportunities so they can understand a lot of the complex issues our clients encounter before and when they are in the criminal justice system,” Makoul said.

She also noted her office has investigators and client advocates, who are similar to social workers, on staff to determine and interpret evidence, as well as to help clients.

Makoul said her office’s attorneys are tasked to represent people who cannot afford to pay for an attorney in all misdemeanors and felonies, except for ARD-eligible Driving Under the Influence charges.

Public defenders will also represent juveniles in delinquency matters, as well as individuals with DUI-related driving with a suspended license charges, involuntary mental health commitments, and any other matter where representation is constitutionally required.

“Whenever a person’s liberty is at stake, the public defender will represent the individual,” she explained.

Clients can visit the county’s website and complete an application online to apply for a public defender, Makoul said, adding certain financial information will be used to determine whether an applicant is indigent and thus eligible for representation.

Applications are also available at the public defender’s office on the sixth floor of the Lehigh County Courthouse, in the courthouse lobby and at any magisterial district judge’s office.

Makoul said if a person is incarcerated, he or she must make a request during the intake process or through their case manager, and that in their case no financial information is required to be submitted.

Additionally, if people are first denied services but then have a change in their financial situation, Makoul recommended they contact the office and reapply for public defender services.

Makoul also discussed the holistic defense model, a “cutting edge” system based on the idea public defenders must adopt a broader understanding of the scope of their work.

She said it is important these attorneys address the collateral legal consequences of criminal justice involvement, the underlying life circumstances and nonlegal issues which surround a client.

She noted that her office’s client advocates and investigators help expand this sense of understanding.

Additionally, Makoul said the office is expanding its areas of representation to ensure that individuals are represented as early as possible in the process, and that a program is in the works to have a client advocate in the county jail to be a point of first contact for clients.

“We try to bring it all to the client,” she said, noting that while this progressive defense model is new to Lehigh County public defenders, the model has been proven to yield positive results.

“What they have found is they have saved taxpayer money, it has reduced recidivism and it has also reduced jail time, so it is better for everybody; for society, the individual and the taxpayer,” Makoul said.

Toward the end of her presentation, Makoul also gave a brief breakdown of the adult and juvenile criminal justice systems and answered audience questions.

She was asked what the public defender’s office was doing to interrupt the school-to-prison pipeline.

Makoul said this was a goal of her office, and that involving and working with client advocates would help address these issues.

“I am proud of the fact we have attorneys who concentrate on juvenile defense. Juveniles deserve to have that,” she said, adding it is important to have lawyers dedicated to working with clients, families, partners and advocates to focus on rehabilitation efforts and ensure juvenile clients do not end up in prison.

Makoul also said the public defender’s office is partnered with numerous community organizations to rehabilitate and keep youth out of the prison and criminal justice systems.

Additionally, in response to a question about combating systemic racism, Makoul said her office’s social workers and attorneys must delve into the issue deeper “and to try to understand the correlation between systemic racism, and racism as it relates to involvement in the criminal justice system.”

She said public defenders and client advocates receive as much training as possible but added there must be recognition from all stakeholders within the criminal justice system about the issue of systemic racism, “and then taking steps to intervene at every level, but especially at the juvenile level, to prevent juveniles from even getting into the system in the first place.”

The 2021 Citizens Academy’s free webinars are available for viewing on the county’s YouTube channel.