Ogden • Gov. Gary Herbert has proposed adding $5 million per year to fund public defenders in Utah, a move that advocates say would be a step toward fixing a system that can fall short for people who are accused of crimes but can’t afford their own lawyer.
The request comes after the state was sharply criticized in a 2015 report by the Sixth Amendment Center, which found it was one of just two states that left public-defender funding entirely up to local governments, leaving rural and poor counties struggling to pay, The Standard-Examiner reported.