On Wednesday, the New Orleans police arrested Deonca Kennedy after her 3-year-old grandson was killed by a bullet fired from a gun under her pillow as the two slept.

Ms. Kennedy, who was charged with negligent homicide and is indigent, qualified to have a public defender represent her. But the Orleans Public Defenders Office turned her down because, as it had announced on Jan. 11, it could no longer afford to take on serious new felony cases, including some involving murder, rape and armed robbery.

Currently, the office’s lawyers handle an average of 350 felony cases each year, more than twice the American Bar Association’s guideline of 150. It is impossible for them to provide an ethical or constitutionally adequate defense for their existing clients under these conditions, let alone to take on even more. The situation is only getting worse, and the office imposed a hiring freeze because of a $1 million budget shortfall.

Since the office represents about 85 percent of criminal defendants in New Orleans and nearly all defendants who are found to be indigent, the impact of the decision to decline new cases has been immediate. Already 15 defendants facing violent felony charges have been turned down. Until the state or the city comes up with money to pay for lawyers whom the Constitution requires the government to provide, these people, including Ms. Kennedy, are locked up in jail without lawyers to challenge their arrests, request reduced bail or file motions to preserve evidence.