BY RON SYLVESTER
The Wichita Eagle

Steve Osburn is chief of the Sedgwick County public defenders -- the attorneys who represent people charged with crimes but who can't afford to hire lawyers.

As head of the Wichita office, Osburn is the second-highest paid public defender in Kansas. But his $77,000 salary would rank Osburn 14th if he worked at the Sedgwick County District Attorneys' office.

Discrepancies in compensation between public defenders and prosecutors go beyond their paychecks. It also affects access to legal training that could give prosecutors an advantage in the courtroom.

Both offices vigorously defend the talents of their attorneys. They say they do their jobs as much out of dedication as for money.

"Justice shouldn't be for sale, and I believe most of the people who come to work for our office believe that," Osburn said.

Still, prosecutors who press felony charges in Wichita make about $20,000 more a year than the court-appointed lawyers across the aisle.

Prosecutors working for District Attorney Nola Foulston make a median salary of $64,000 a year, according to the most recent numbers available. Foulston makes nearly $136,000.

Public defenders, meanwhile, make a median salary of little more than $44,000 a year.

That salary is so low that one Wichita public defender, German-born Klaus Dieter Mueller,nearly had his visa revoked because U.S. immigration officials considered him "underemployed" because of his pay.

The State Board of Indigents' Defense Services received little more than half of the funds it requested for pay raises this year.

"We're a necessary evil in the state budget," Osburn said. "We only exist because the courts say they have to have us."

That edict came from the U.S. Supreme Court, which 45 years ago ruled in favor of a drifter named Clarence Earl Gideon who was too poor to hire a lawyer to defend him against theft charges in Florida. The decision in Gideon v. Wainwright guaranteed everyone charged with a crime the right to a lawyer.

"No one ever considers the rights of the defendant, until it's you or yours charged with the crime," Osburn said.

Growing salary gap

There are 22 attorneys in the Sedgwick County Regional Public Defender's office, handling 4,342 cases this year, according to theBoard of Indigents' Defense Services.

The caseload has increased each year, from 3,866 three years ago.

That's about 197 cases for each attorney to handle in a year.

And the salary gap has grown with the caseload.

In 2003, the last time The Eagle examined salaries of public attorneys in Sedgwick County District Court, prosecutors made 28 percent more than public defenders.

Now the difference is 33 percent.

The District Attorney's office has more than twice as many attorneys on staff as the public defender's office.

But they handle more kinds of cases than public defenders, who usually represent defendants in felony cases and probation violations.

"The district attorney's office has a much broader scope than the public defender's office does," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Kim Parker.

Parker said the office handles consumer and juvenile issues. And its felony trial lawyers must give detailed review to police investigations before charges are filed, which adds to their workload.

"At the district attorney's office, we have to respond to all state agencies, including agencies like the health department," Parker said. "If we get a report someone has tuberculosis we have a responsibility to make sure they're not running around infecting people."

Assistant district attorneys are assigned to the traffic division to prosecute cases and other areas.

Parker also pointed out that neither office of the district court can match the salaries at City Hall. The City of Wichita law office has 17 attorneys who average more than $84,000 a year.

"And we both lose out when it comes to attorneys in private practice," Parker said.

The mid-level annual salary for a Kansas lawyer is $87,550, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Reports from the University of Kansas and Washburn law schools say graduates can expect to make between $47,000 and $63,000 their first year.

"Because of the differences in salaries from private practice, people come to our office wanting to be prosecutors, believing they can make a different and work for truth and justice," Parker said.

Gap in training

Along with the wage gap, there are also discrepancies in the availability of the legal training lawyers are required to receive each year.

The district attorney's office has funds to do continuing law training, which is required of lawyers to keep their licenses.

Prosecutors get funds from law enforcement forfeitures, such as confiscated drug money, which they use for training.

Osburn said the public defender's office does not have a budget for training.

"We do our own," Osburn said. "For the past several years Judge (Paul) Clark has let us use his courtroom during the judicial conferences.

"Private lawyers such as Dan Monnat have come in and put together programs for us on a volunteer basis," Osburn said. "But it's all done for free."

Osburn also said he thinks the job stress for public defenders, who often visit their clients behind bars, is difficult work for the compensation they receive.

"Prosecutors work in a much more in the abstract, because they defend the state of Kansas," Osburn said. "We represent our clients. We can talk to them, touch them and smell them."