FFASA'S GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND SOLUTION

Guiding Principles
FFASA Solution to Prosecutor Turnover

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Principle One:  Prosecutor Turnover is Costly and Detrimental to Public Safety.

The turnover of experienced prosecutors has a negative impact on the judicial system.

• Between 2000 and 2004, an average of 81% of prosecutors left State Attorney offices in Florida before 5 years of service.  The Florida Prosecutor, March 2005
• "It's a crisis in the courtroom....When we lose our lawyers, the cases in the courtrooms slow down, and the victims suffer."  Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle (*7)
• "If you were the victim, wouldn't you want a state attorney with the same experience as the defense?  As a judge, I can't tell the prosecutor, you forgot to ask the follow-up question."  Broward Chief Judge Dale Ross (*8)
• "It's not unusual to have a victim call up to me and complain about 'Where did my prosecutor go?' "  Jeff Marcus, Broward Chief of Felonies(*8)
• "The judges felt frustrated because they always had to deal with new prosecutors....I was doing four jobs at once because of all the people who left.  It was like we had to plug all the holes in the dam."  Former Broward prosecutor Christopher Palamara (*8)
• Prosecutor turnover “creates a day-to-day performance void that usually cannot be filled very effectively by rookie attorneys.” Florida TaxWatch (*1)
• “High turnover is a concern.  Continual turnover reduces the level of experienced staff.  And, when positions are vacant, the caseloads of other attorneys increase.  Even after the vacancies are filled, experienced staff must allocate time to training new staff.” Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability(OPPAGA) (*2)
• “When State Attorneys are forced to assign inexperienced lawyers to cases for which the are not ready, neither victims nor justice are well-served." Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association (*3)
• “According to a recent analysis of state payroll and employment records, more than half of Florida’s prosecuting attorneys have three years or fewer of experience, and Florida loses more than half of its ASAs in the first five years of service.” Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association (*3)
• “Paying prosecutors what they are worth will save money in the long run and give Florida’s victims the respect and justice they deserve." Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association (*3)
• The Tallahassee-based management consulting firm MGT of America, under a contract with the Florida Legislature, estimated that more than $6 million is spent annually to recruit and train trial lawyers to replace those leaving the system.
• "In Miami-Dade, the assistant state attorneys turnover rate is 24.35 percent....In Broward County the assistant state attorneys turnover rate is 19.39 percent, up from 14.75 percent just five years ago."  ( *8)
• "In the 2005-2006 fiscal year, the turnover rate in state attorneys' offices averaged 20 percent across the state." (*8)

Graphics from the article A revolving door of public attorneys, Orlando Sentinel (*7)

Principle Two:  The New Generation of Florida State Prosecutors Cannot Afford to Make their Job a Career.

The combination of high law school debt, high cost of living and depressed salaries, makes it impossible for prosecutors to consider their job a career.

• "I loved my job but the salary was not family-friendly. It's anti-family....A prosecutor in this country should never have to take a sick day because they don't have gas money for the car"."  Former Miami-Dade prosecutor Gregory Schendeman  (*8)
• "A low starting salary offered to young professionals deters a high percentage of the best and brightest recent law graduates from considering a career as a prosecutor."  Gary Winston
• "It is an honor to be a prosecutor, but we shouldn't be financially punished for choosing to be one."  Prosecutor Tammy Forrest
• "Being that devoted to prosecuting, I never expected to be rich, but I did not expect to take a vow to poverty. A decent income would ensure that we attract and retain young, bright crimefighters and that old lifers like myself don't have to look to the US Attorney's Office as the only place where we could earn a decent income while prosecuting criminals."  Prosecutor Suzie Jeffrey
• I currently pay out $865/month towards student loans.  This is about 1/3 of my take home pay each month.  My payments should actually be much higher than that, but I keep begging for one forbearance after another because I couldn't possibly make payments on all my loans every month."  Prosecutor Andrea Jones
• “Public interest salaries barely doubled in the past twenty years, but the average debt of law school graduates grew to $77, 300, more than double the average debt just a decade ago.” American Bar Association (*4)
• Graduates’ average law school indebtedness is $54,025 for those who attended public institutions and $77,183 for those who attended private institutions. National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (*5)
• Student loan payments for private law school graduates represent 16% of their starting salaries.  For public law school graduates, loan repayment exceeds 11% of their starting salaries. National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (*5)
• “Nearly 70% [of state trial attorneys] move to private law firms, generally for salary increases in the neighborhood of $15,000.  Another 20% or more go to Executive Branch attorney positions for pay increases of approximately $5,000.” Florida TaxWatch (*1) 

                     Graphic from The Florida Prosecutor newsletter, March 2005

FFASA SOLUTION TO PROSECUTOR TURNOVER

Because the state will never be able to compete with private-sector salaries, Florida legislators must devise a combination of incentives that would encourage prosecutors to make their job a career.  A legislative initiative that does not include a combination of Salary Increases, a Loan-Repayment Program and a Retention Bonus, would not be an effective long-term solution to prosecutor turnover. 

Salary Increase
State prosecutors are underpaid and overworked.  New state prosecutors receive a yearly salary of approximately $38,000 (see Table1). (*6) State prosecutors cannot meet their financial responsibilities with these depressed salaries.

Table 1  Assistant State Attorney Salaries

Loan-Repayment Program
A loan repayment program would lessen the burden of student loans and would encourage state prosecutors to remain in public service.  According to the report by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators:

• More than 80% of law school graduates have student loan debt.
• Graduates’ average law school indebtedness is $54,025 for those who attended public institutions and $77,183 for those who attended private institutions.
• Student loan payments for private law school graduates represent 16% of their starting salaries and 11% for public law school graduates. (*5)

Employee-Retention Program
State Attorneys need an effective employee-retention program that properly recognizes the importance of retaining experienced prosecutors.  According to the Florida TaxWatch Special Report:

• 70% [of state trial attorneys] move to private law firms, generally for salary increases in the neighborhood of $15,000. 
• Another 20%, or more, go to Executive Branch attorney positions for pay increases of approximately $5,000.(*1)

The legislature must fund a competitive “Retention Bonus” for mid-level career prosecutors of at least $6,000 to $8,000.  This Retention Bonus should be granted to mid-level attorneys with three to six years of experience, the group with the highest turnover rate.

*References

1.  Florida TaxWatch Special Report, Improving State Attorney & Public Defender Budget Process & Targeted Salary Increases Will Help Achieve Revision 7 Goals, Reduce Trial Lawyer Turnover, March 2004.

2.  Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability  (OPPAGA) Report Number 01-64, Justification Review for the Justice Administration Commission State Attorneys Public Defenders, (2001).

3.  The Florida Prosecutor newsletter, FPAA to Lawmakers:  New Judges Require New Prosecutors, March 2005.

4.  American Bar Association’s Report, Lifting the Burden: Law Student Debt as a Barrier to Public Service (2003).

5.  National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators Report, Financial Aid Awards and Services to Graduate/Professional Students in 2002-2003: Results from the 2003 Survey of Graduate Aid Policies, Practices, and Procedures (2003)

6.  Average salaries of Assistant State Attorneys in Florida as provided by the Justice Administrative Commission, Senate Staff Analysis and Economic Impact Statement for Senate Bill SB 196, February 5, 2007.

7.  A revolving door of public attorneys, the Orlando Sentinel, October 23, 2006.

8.   Counsel turnover takes toll, The Miami Herald, November 5, 2006.