Judges to Reconsider Competing Bids to Defend Poor Suspects

Less than a week after Ventura County judges warned a local law firm that it might lose its contract to defend poor criminal suspects, the jurists have asked the county to reopen negotiations.

The decision, announced Wednesday after a meeting between judges and county administrators, gives Ventura-based Conflict Defense Associates a second chance at retaining the contract it has held for 18 years.

“We are not out of the ballgame,” said lawyer James M. Farley, the firm’s co-founder. “As I see it, we are starting out at even money and we have to come up with a bid that is acceptable to the county.”

Sources said the decision to extend negotiations comes after concerns were raised about gaps in two competing proposals--not because of a sense of loyalty to Farley’s firm. “That would be a misread,” said one judge.

Conflict Defense Associates represents indigent clients in criminal cases when the public defender’s office declares a conflict of interest. The firm handles about 375 felony and 500 misdemeanor cases annually.

But the contract is now being challenged by a Madera-based firm that undercut CDA’s bid by more than half. Madera County is just north of Fresno in the Sierra foothills.

Under the proposal, John A. Barker & Associates would defend people accused of everything from petty theft to murder for $1.1 million annually--considerably less than the $2.4-million bid made by Conflict Defense Associates.

Farley and other defense attorneys, who have questioned how Barker can adequately represent poor clients for that amount of money, expected the judges to endorse the rival proposal Wednesday.

But county officials said the judges’ recommendation was shelved after they asked for a 30-day extension to further evaluate each bid.

“The judges want more time to study both proposals,” said Robert Sherman, a program analyst in the county administrator’s office. “There are concerns on both sides.”

Sherman would not specify the judges’ concerns, and Presiding Superior Court Judge Charles W. Campbell Jr. could not be reached for comment.

Farley said it was not an issue of favoritism for the home-town team, which has never faced competition for the county contract from an outside firm.

“I don’t see this as an old boys’ club,” he said. “We don’t have this thing locked.”

Sources close to the negotiations said some of the judges are troubled by Conflict Defense Associates’ repeated budget overruns and the Barker firm’s proposal for handling capital murder trials.

Conflict Defense Associates has billed the county more than $1 million in excess of its contract in the past three years. Its lawyers say they are trying to find a way to bring expenses in line, and plan to lower the firm’s previous $2.4-million offer.

“We are certainly prepared to come down from that number,” said attorney Willard Wiksell, who co-founded the firm with Farley. “I think the bid process was a little vague and unclear in some areas and this will give us a chance to remedy that.”

Wiksell and Farley said cost overruns have been the only complaint leveled against the firm’s 15 lawyers in nearly two decades.

Said Farley: “We have been doing this for 18 years and we have never had a case reversed and there has never been a lawsuit against the county for ineffective assistance of counsel.”

Barker’s firm, with 53 attorneys, has been in business 11 years. Though based in Madera, Barker’s firm provides defense services for four other California counties--Fresno, Amador, Trinity and Modoc.

With the exception of Fresno, the other four counties combined have less than a third the population of Ventura County.

Critics of Barker’s bid to Ventura County question how he can properly defend suspects at such a relatively low cost. They specifically cite his proposal for handling death penalty cases. Each such case would cost the county $35,000 to $65,000 beyond the contract depending on the severity.

“It’s incomprehensible to me,” said Public Defender Kenneth Clayman, whose office spent four times that to defend convicted murderer Diana Haun in 1997.

“My overall feeling is we spend in this county literally millions on law enforcement and have quality prosecution,” Clayman said. “And I think the same type of criteria should apply to defending people who can’t afford their own attorneys.”

Barker did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday.

But John Sears, assistant county administrator for Madera County, said Barker has a good reputation and has never run over his $894,000 annual budget in the five years he has held the contract there.

“He never comes back and says, ‘Gee I didn’t think about this, I’m going to need more money,” Sears said. “Mr. Barker is very up front. He has never tried to shaft the county.”

Next week, Barker and CDA’s lawyers are expected to appear for interviews before Ventura County’s judges. They will also be asked to respond to written questions about their proposals.

Under a revised schedule, those questions will be distributed June 8. Both sides must submit written answers and “final proposals” by June 18.

The judges are expected to recommend a firm June 23, and the Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on a final selection July 13. The new contract would begin Aug. 1, a month after CDA’s existing contract expires.