On the eve of a key Metro Council vote on the mayor’s 2026 budget proposal, the East Baton Rouge public defender’s office and its supporters are protesting cuts they say would harm the parish’s criminal justice system.

At a demonstration outside of City Hall on Monday, a few dozen employees and supporters criticized the 21.4% cut Mayor-President Sid Edwards plans for the public defender in 2026 and urged council members to vote against it.

“We're here today to demand appropriate funding for the public defender's office,” said Chief Public Defender Kyla Romanach. “We are in the capital city of the most incarcerated state in the country and the mayor's budget proposes to cut funding to the public defender's office ... it is not justice.”

The public defender's office faces one of the large

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