Indigent Defenders Offices Running Out of Money

Indigent Defender offices across the state are facing a budget crisis. Many of the offices will run out of money by June 30th.

Several offices have had to lay off attorneys because of the budget problems. Locally, a forum is scheduled for Thursday to talk about the problem and possible solutions.

Attorney Tom Arceneaux is part of the forum and we talked with him about the problem.

The Louisiana Legislative Auditor's Office reports that 17 public defenders' offices out of 40 spent more money than they brought in for the budget year that ended June 30, 2013.