Public Defender Desktop Video Conferencing Interpreter Program

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

The Public Defender has a responsibility to provide effective legal representation to indigent clients charged with a criminal offense which includes the duty to maintain effective client communications. In order to increase client communications, the Public Defender in 2012 implemented desktop video conferencing for its felony attorneys. The problem was that for a number of clients, the interview could not be conducted without the services of a Spanish language interpreter. The Public Defender needed to come up with a way to leverage and maximize the two Spanish language interpreters it had to participate in attorney/client interviews without the attorney and the interpreter traveling to the jail facilities. The solution was to bring the interpreter into the attorney/client video conferencing interview call. A pilot program was developed in July, 2012 to do just that. The pilot program was successful and became a permanent program in 2015. Between January 1, 2015 and February 29, 2016, 486 interviews were conducted via video and 810 trips eliminated by attorneys and interpreters saving $20,120 in mileage and 891 hours of travel time at a cost of $37,818. The program’s total savings and cost avoidance is $57,938. The program’s return on its $16,150 investment was significant.