Paying state attorneys and public defenders more might save Florida taxpayers money in the long run, according to a new report.
Right now, assistant state attorneys and public defenders start out making about $20,000 less in Florida, compared to attorneys in states with comparable crime rates. Their salaries are well below the national average, and Florida TaxWatch said in a statement this is actually costing the state money.
Dan McCarthy with the Center for Smart Justice at Florida TaxWatch said that’s because these low salaries have led to skyrocketing turnover rates.
“Many of them like the job and work hard at the job, but after a year or two—especially if their life changes, like they get married or have children or those things—they just come to understand that $43,000 with large debt acquired for the education and the ability to be a lawyer… they just can’t make it meet,” he explained. “So, they resign. And they resign in very high numbers.”
Those high numbers mean more taxpayer money goes to recruiting, retraining and replacing these attorneys.
McCarthy said it also delays cases and degrades the overall quality of the state’s judicial system.
According to McCarthy’s report, if the state raised salaries to $50,000 for all assistant state attorneys and public defenders—it would cost taxpayers $5.2 million. But, it will cut the turnover rate by 50 percent and save taxpayers millions of dollars.
