Shreveport City Council returns $85K to public defender's budget

Shreveport's city council allocated $85,000 to the Caddo Parish Public Defender's Office Tuesday.

Councilman John Nickelson, who proposed the allocation and is himself an attorney, said $85,000 was removed from the Public Defender's Office's budget last year, which reduced the office's number of lawyers.

"Restoring this funding will ensure that the Caddo Parish Public Defender's Office is able to appropriately represent people who have been accused of crimes in that court," Nickelson said.

More: Shreveport lounge mired by shootings and violations to remain shuttered through September

"As we all are, I'm very concerned about crime and making sure our law enforcement officers are properly resourced and have what it needs to keep us safe," Nickelson added.

Nickelson said the city courts judges receive an allocation from the city and have typically given part of those funds to the defender's office, but for some reason reduced that amount last year, spurring this new allocation from Nickelson.

The allocation was approved in a 3-2 vote from the Council, with council members Nickelson, Grayson Boucher and Alan Jackson voting in favor of it while council members Jerry Bowman, Jr. and James Green voted against it.

Kendrick Dante writes for the USA Today Network and is a government watchdog reporter in Shreveport, Louisiana. He enjoys cooking, concerts, and content. Email him at kdbrown1@gannett.com or connect on Twitter @kendrickdante.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Caddo Public Defenders to get $85,000 from Shreveport City Council