Public Defender asks lawmakers for funding bump as office bleeds lawyers fleeing high rent

Rent prices are so high in Miami-Dade many lawyers on county salaries are leaving or entering private practice, according to Public Defender Carlos Martinez, who implored state lawmakers to bring more money for raises.

Martinez thanked members of the county delegation who supported a 2022 budget line providing an up to $10,000 increase in prosecutor and public defender pay.

That slowed the bleeding, he said. But retention remains a problem.

“The prior fiscal year, I lost 61 lawyers. Because of what you did last year, I only lost 40,” he said, adding that recruitment this year has “been a nightmare.”

– Jesse Scheckner, Florida Politics