Scott Sanders, Hero of the People

I'm reading a story in The Orange County Register about how Scott is battling corruption in the Orange County District Attorney's office, and I come across this line

"The Orange County Public Defender’s Office, which has a budget of $72.6 million, handles some 79,000 cases a year with a staff of 211 attorneys, according to Public Defender Frank Ospino, who is Sanders’ boss."

The story gives us some numbers:

• $72.6 million 
• 79,000 cases 
• 211 attorneys 

What do they mean? Using basic arithmetic we get:

• $920 per case 
• 375 cases per attorney 
• $345,000 per attorney 

The $72.6 million does not go directly to the 211 lawyers. That's the budget for the whole office with all the staff of support personnel, and who know's what other costs that covers. Entry level salary for an Orange County Public Defenders is $63,000 a year. Scott makes four times that. He's been there a while.

Needless to say, not everyone agrees with the "Hero of the People" assessment.