FY22 JRJ Repayment Program for RI

Applicant:  Rhode Island Public Defender

John R. Justice Loan Repayment

Project Abstract

Rhode Island Public Defender, 160 Pine Street, Providence, RI 02903

Goals of the Project:         The Project has three discrete goals:  (a) to reduce the disincentive to career defense and prosecution that financially burdensome student loans pose for lawyers considering these careers; (b) to increase retention of defenders and prosecutors by providing financial assistance for repayment of student loans, as an offset to what are historically lower salaries than those for lawyers in private practice; and (c) to strike an equitable balance between these two priorities, giving due consideration to “least able to pay” while encouraging long-term service.

Numbers of Prosecutors and Defenders:  Since the inception of this program in 2010 the prosecutors and public defenders have seen no increases in criminal attorney staffing levels. 

FISCAL YEAR

PROSECUTORS

DEFENDERS

FED. DEFENDERS

2010

65-68[1]

46

3

2019

65

48

3

Strategy:  The project invokes personalized outreach.  Because Rhode Island is so small geographically, and implements criminal justice primarily through a single statewide prosecuting authority for felonies[2] and a single statewide defender system[3], personal notification of repayment opportunities is possible to every eligible lawyer.  There is a single law school which has pledged its full cooperation with outreach efforts. 

            A minor base award will be equitable distributed to each eligible defender and prosecutor beneficiary.  Supplemental award guidelines will take into account “least ability to pay” by distributing some of the available funds in awards that will vary according to educational debt to household incomes ratio.  An additional bonus award will also be distributed based on accumulated years of service as a defender or prosecutor in any jurisdiction.

            In the past, all eligible applicants regardless of financial need have received some award.  Because the funds to be distributed have been decreased so drastically, the SAA will likely eliminate from final award eligibility applicants whose ratio of educational debt to household income is below a threshold level, given the pool of applicants. 

The SAA will give priority consideration to those individuals who have an ongoing John R. Justice Loan Repayment Program (JRJLRP) Service Agreement obligation at the time of selection.  The SAA will only re-select individuals whom the SAA reasonably believes will continue to maintain their eligibility to receive JRJ benefits.

[1] Estimate

[2] Although misdemeanor prosecutors are also eligible for repayment assistance, misdemeanors are prosecuted by municipal authorities in Rhode Island, most of who are not fulltime government employees.  It is anticipated that there will be few, if any, full-time misdemeanor prosecutors eligible for repayment awards.

[3] There is a small, 3-attorney federal defender.  Outreach will be individual to them as well.