One member of the Public Defenders Commission said the state must act now.

More than 400 lawyers crowded into the Missouri Ballroom for the Missouri Bar Association's fall committee meeting, much like case files crowded into a long row of filing cabinets. This glut of cases is central to the problem public defenders in Missouri face.

"What they found, in relationship to other standards, was that we were way out of whack," Doug Copeland of the Public Defenders' Commission said.

The board of governors heard results of a study that said the state's defenders aren't able to keep their heads above water.

"Looking forward is rather bleak," Copeland said. "Obviously, we're back into a cycle of there not being a lot of resources that are available to the state."

It's the underwhelming economy that is causing public defenders to be overwhelmed. Low state revenue has ruled out adding more defenders to the system. Most are working more than the recommended number of hours - some as much as 100% more. Without the money to fix the system, the meeting was to bring the public defenders up to speed and give a report of the current status.

Copeland still calls the public defenders a good system, expressing hope for the future of the program.

The report suggested decriminalizing minor crimes that don't typically result in jail time. This would cut the number of cases public defenders must handle.