Indigent Defense and Arizona Counties: What Lawmakers Need to Know

$200 MILLION+

Spent by Arizona Counties on Indigent Defense Annually

Funded almost entirely through county general funds

<1%

State Contribution to Criminal Defense Costs

Just $700,000 statewide — while counties carry the remaining 95%+ of the burden

5 States

Fund Indigent Defense Exclusively at the Local Level

Arizona is one of only five in the nation — a rare outlier in how it structures this constitutional obligation

Arizona's indigent defense system ensures that individuals facing criminal prosecution have access to legal counsel, as required under the Sixth Amendment. For lawmakers and policy staff, understanding how this system is structured and funded is an important part of understanding the broader state-county fiscal relationship.

How Counties Provide Indigent Defense

While the constitutional obligation to provide indigent defense belongs to the state, Arizona delegates the responsibility for providing and funding these services almost entirely to counties. Arizona is one of only five states in the nation that fund indigent defense exclusively at the local level.

Counties deliver these services through a mix of public defender offices and contracted private attorneys, depending on size, caseload, and local needs. Boards of Supervisors play a central role in establishing public defense offices, setting budgets, and determining staffing and service delivery models.

What This Looks Like at the Local Level

Indigent defense is funded almost entirely through county general funds, with counties responsible for approximately 95% of total costs. Statewide, counties spend over $200 million annually on indigent defense services. Unlike other parts of the criminal justice system — including county attorney and sheriff operations — public defense offices have access to virtually no dedicated statutory funding sources and limited federal grant funding.

State Funding

State financial support for indigent defense totals just $700,000 statewide in FY 2024, less than one percent of total county spending on these services. For a decade (FY 2011–FY 2021), that funding was swept and redirected to other state priorities.

Impacts of State Policy Choices on Local Costs and Caseloads

Because costs are sensitive to changes in state law, prosecution practices, and case complexity, shifts in any of those areas can increase county caseloads and costs without a corresponding change in available funding.

The graphic below illustrates how a single change to state statute can ripple through the indigent defense system — using Cochise County's experience following the amendment of A.R.S. §13-2323 as a real-world example.