Public Defenders Step Outside

Verna walked up to the Elm Street courthouse thinking she had a court date in September, and unsure if she qualified for a public defender.

She left with a new November court date — and the confidence that she will have legal representation when her case finally comes before a judge.

Verna picked up that info on the front steps of 121 Elm St. during an outdoor ​“public application event” that the public defender’s office held for indigent clients facing criminal charges and in need of legal help.

The office hosted the event in part to ensure that potential clients and public defenders meet up face to face before their first day in court, and to help them navigate the state judicial system, which has been largely upended by the Covid-19 pandemic.

After meeting with the court house staff, Chief Public Defender Christine Rapillo, and Senior Assistant Public Defender Douglas Ovian Thursday, Verna learned her court date was postponed for a second time since being charged in June.

She now has to wait until the last week of November for her first court appearance. Now she knows she’ll have a lawyer’s help come her first court date.

Rapillo and Ovian worked with staff from the Elm Street courthouse to host the event this past Thursday on the front steps of the state courthouse on the Green.

Verna said a member of the Connecticut Bail Fund referred her to the event after she attended a women’s support group meeting. Verna declined to discuss her case with this reporter.

Since June, Verna said, she has been calling a number of city, state, and judicial offices to figure out how to get a public defender and when her court date would be, as the state court system has remained largely closed during the pandemic.

Those closures have led to postponements of cases, such as Verna’s.

Thursday’s event’s organizers said that the public defender’s office has secured state funds to hire eight public defenders through December, and to host a series of application events throughout the state. New Haven’s was the third scheduled. 

Verna said the delays in her case has made her feel as if she’s losing momentum to see out all of her legal options. They’ve also left her frustrated. ​“It’s unconstitutional. They’ve been treating me like I’m guilty this whole time by not giving me my day in court,” she said.

In many cases a defendant’s first court date is the first time he or she meets their assigned public defender if they are provided one, Rapillo said.

The organizers said they hope events like this past Thursday’s change that, with the public application series not only helping defendants get a public defender if they qualify, but also allowing the two sides to meet up before the first day of court.

“If you’re able to build a relationship and don’t just see your lawyer when in court, that’s valuable, and can change some things,” said Ovian

The event process starts with a financial application to be sure defendants qualify for the service for those who cannot afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial.

After an applicant qualifying, the public defender does intake to get details of the case. During the process the courthouse staff collects information to look up the defendant’s next court dates.

One resident came to the Thursday event after being told he had a court date that day. After qualifying financially and doing intake assessment, the team discovered his court date was postponed to a later date. The lawyers also found that the resident had multiple cases but did not have time to look up if he was already assigned a lawyer for any of the cases before he had to catch his ride.

Another resident worked with Ovian across the street as he waited for the city bus. Ovian looked up the resident’s court date but found that it has not yet been scheduled. Just before the resident caught his city bus, Ovian shared his phone number with the man so that the two could remain in contact once his court date is scheduled.

Public defenders Kevin Semataska and Michael Rodrigue also helped to assist New Haveners at the event.