In 1989, the Minnesota State Legislature appropriated $100,000 to fund a study to determine reasonable caseload limits within which public defenders could provide adequate defense to their clients.

The Board contracted with the Spangenberg Group, Inc., of Newton, Massachusetts, to conduct the study.

They reported back in February, 1991, with the recommendation that "Public Defenders in Minnesota should process no more than the following number of cases each year:'

Homicides 3 per lawyer per year

Other Felony 100-120 per lawyer per year

Gross Misdemeanor 250-300 per lawyer per year

Misdemeanor 400 per lawyer per year

Child Welfare 80 per lawyer per year

Other Juvenile 175 per lawyer per year

Other Cases 200 per lawyer per year

The above figures are all based on the services of a full-time

attorney.

The Spangenberg study said the above numbers "present the minimum requirements to assure effective assistance of counsel in Minnesota" and "To avoid a major breakdown in the public defender system, caseload relief must be obtained as soon as possible and the standards we have proposed would in fact address this crisis as we have found it."