(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court is siding with the Davenport Public Defender’s office in dealing with an overloaded court system. The Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the district court exceeded its limited role in determining whether the Davenport Public Defender should be allowed to withdraw from six cases.

The district court wanted a hearing detailing the office’s workload instead of accepting Public Defender’s determination they don’t have enough lawyers to handle the six cases where the defendants can’t afford their own lawyers.

The Supreme Court acknowledged the shortage of public defenders is an epidemic in the state, but said its ruling is limited to the Davenport situation and the role the district court plays in deciding if there is a temporary overload of cases.