The state public defender is looking for equal resources to analyze future police body camera evidence after Gov. Jack Markell (D) set aside cash in his proposed budget for prosecutors to do so.
Markell's asked for $500,000 to outfit state troopers with body cameras, with $150,000 going to the attorney general's office to review any potential evidence.
Public Defender Brendan O'Neill says he wants the same consideration.
“We would want originals of the tapes and an opportunity to review them before they’re redacted, without anybody having an opportunity to edit them so we can independently determine whether they have value to either side,” said O'Neill during a Joint Finance Committee presentation Wednesday.
JFC co-chair Sen. Harris McDowell (D-Wilmington North) suggested the public defender's office partner with local universities to review the evidence more affordably, but O'Neill says it's a parity issue.
"You can't give all the resources to the state, the police and the prosecution," he said. "The equation has to balance out."
Sen. Karen Peterson, a Stanton Democrat, agreed, saying it "should be a level playing field."
Also, the office is asking for another lawyer to handle Kent County Court of Common Pleas cases, which currently average more than 1,000 per year among the current public defenders there.
That's more than two-and-a-half times the amount recommended by the American Bar Association in order for lawyers to properly dedicate enough attention to each case.
"It’s not only a potential miscarriage of justice to have these kinds of staffing ratios, it may also be increasing our incarceration costs unnecessarily," said Sen. Brian Bushweller (D-Dover).
There seemed to be a consensus among lawmakers for funding that job, but nothing will be final until budget markup begins in May.