Durbin Holds Hearing on Student Loan Relief for Young Prosecutors & Public Defenders Leigislation

DURBIN HOLDS HEARING ON STUDENT LOAN RELIEF FOR YOUNG PROSECUTORS & PUBLIC DEFENDERS LEGISLATION

Bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) to create a loan repayment program for attorneys who commit to careers in the criminal justice system was today the subject of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

Durbin's bill would establish a student loan repayment program for law school graduates who agree to serve as criminal prosecutors or public defenders. Witnesses at today's hearing included two prosecutors from Illinois -- Paul A. Logli, the State's Attorney for Winnebago County and the Chairman of the Board of the National District Attorney's Association, and Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Jessica Bergeman.

"Today prosecutor and public defender offices are having serious difficulty hiring and retaining good lawyers because students are leaving law school with mortgage-sized student loan debts. And starting salaries in a prosecutor's or public defender's office are 3 to 4 times smaller than starting salaries in private law firms," said Durbin. "When prosecutor and public defender offices cannot attract new lawyers or keep experienced ones, their ability to protect the public is compromised. The federal government has a responsibility to help make public service law an affordable option for talented, experienced lawyers who want to work in the criminal justice system."

Durbin's legislation, the "John R. Justice Prosecutors and Defenders Incentive Act of 2007", is named for the late John R. Justice, former president of the National District Attorneys Association and a champion of efforts to encourage law school graduates to work in public service. The bipartisan legislation is co-sponsored by 15 senators including the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and the committee's senior Republican, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), and is considered a top priority for criminal prosecutors and defenders.

In today's hearing, Paul Logli testified about the increased difficulty in retaining young prosecutors long enough to see them become experienced career prosecutors. "In the last month, my office said goodbye to two promising prosecutors who went into private practice solely for economic reasons ... that means more and more of our serious, complex cases in our felony courtrooms are being prosecuted by less experienced attorneys who are only a few years out of law school." Logli added that, "The people of the State of Illinois and the victims are not receiving the representation they deserve in our criminal courts."

With the average law graduate carrying a staggering amount of student loan debt - an average of $78,763 for those who attended private schools, and $51,056 for public schools - Durbin's bill would establish a student loan repayment option for full-time state and local prosecutors and state, local and federal public defenders who agree to serve for a minimum of three years. Federal prosecutors are already eligible for loan relief through existing federal programs.

Cook County's Assistant State's Attorney Jessica Bergeman testified about the financial struggle that many of her colleagues face throughout their public practice careers. She noted that one colleague "owes a minimum of $150,000 in post-grad loans. She, like me . . . lives for payday when she can pay her bills and use almost everything left for groceries and a full tank of gas." Bergemen added that she keeps her home temperature at 62 degrees in winter to keep costs down so that she can afford her monthly student loan repayments.

Durbin cited the contrast between the loan burdens carried by today's law school graduates and the entry-level salaries for prosecutors and public defenders as evidence of the need for relief. More than 80% of law students borrow to pay for their law degree, and the amount borrowed by many students exceeds $100,000. Many law graduates also carry unpaid debt from their undergraduate studies. At the same time, the median entry-level salary for state prosecuting attorneys and public defenders is around $45,000.

From an employer's perspective, low salaries and high debt make it extremely difficult to recruit and retain attorneys in prosecutor and public defender offices. The Department of Justice has found that almost one-third of prosecutor's offices reported problems with recruitment and retention of staff attorneys.

Durbin's proposal is modeled after a student loan repayment program currently available to federal employees. Like the federal employee program, attorneys eligible for loan repayment could have up to $10,000 per year of student loan debt repaid. Loan repayments are capped at a maximum of $60,000 per individual.

Durbin's legislation is supported by the National District Attorneys Association, the National Association of Prosecutor Coordinators, the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, the American Council of Chief Defenders, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the National Juvenile Defender Center, the American Bar Association, and the Conference of Chief Justices.

It is expected that Durbin's bill will be voted on by the full Judiciary Committee in the next two weeks, and if approved, should be sent to the Senate floor for consideration sometime next month.

http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=269764