Murder suspects to get attorneys, defender says

The public defender funding crisis is having real-world consequences.
Two St. Mary Parish murder suspects formally asked a judge to release them because their lack of counsel violates their constitutional rights.
But the two defendants, who have been without attorneys for over a month, should have representation within a week, said the district defender for the public defender’s office.
Kirkland Dwayne Craft, 24, of Morgan City, and Justin Edward Patterson, 27, of Morgan City, filed a pro se assertion of rights last week in 16th Judicial District Court stating that they were being denied their constitutional right to counsel and, therefore, being held in violation of the state and federal constitutions.
The two defendants requested that they be released from jail where they are currently incarcerated.
Craft was indicted Dec. 5, 2013, on the charge of first-degree murder in the Oct. 29, 2013, stabbing death of Willie O. Francis. Patterson was indicted by a grand jury July 16, 2013, on the charge of second-degree murder in the May 20, 2013, shooting death of Mikki Jay Dauntain.
District Defender Cecelia Bonin, who runs the public defender’s office, said Wednesday she expects to have attorneys for both defendants within a week. The two attorneys, whom Bonin wouldn’t name yet, have represented Craft and Patterson previously, Bonin said. Because of a lack of funding, Bonin had to terminate the attorneys’ contracts, she said.
But Bonin was able to renegotiate the attorneys’ contracts so that Craft and Patterson will have representation.
Both cases are considered conflict cases, which refer to cases where multiple defendants need separate attorneys to ensure they are properly represented. Therefore, Bonin is required to get staff attorneys from other parishes, contracted attorneys or pro-bono attorneys to represent defendants in those types of cases, she said.
On April 26, Attorney Renee Louviere of the public defender’s office stated that Craft and Patterson needed conflict-free counsel and would be put on a wait list for representation, according to court records.
At the end of April, Bonin said there were 86 defendants without representation in St. Mary Parish, and 16 of those defendants were incarcerated.
Assistant District Attorney Anthony Saleme said he’s glad that attorneys are going to be appointed to represent Craft and Patterson “so we can get their cases to trial.”
Saleme is still concerned about other defendants, both in jail and out of jail, who don’t have attorneys.
“I’m happy that we’re addressing these two immediate needs … but I hope they can take measures in order to represent everybody,” Saleme said.
Craft and Patterson have trial dates set for June 20. But, they won’t go to trial that soon because their attorneys will need time to get up to speed on the cases, Saleme said.