DOVER, Del. (AP)- The Delaware Public Defender's Office says it's noticing the number of cases the agency handles is going down slightly.

At a budget hearing on Thursday, Public Defender Brendan O'Neill said there has been "a very slight downward trend" in the number of cases requiring the agency's attorneys.

O'Neill told state budget officials he can't explain why the caseload is decreasing. But because of the trend, the agency is keeping its budget request at $14.6 million.

The office has 71 assistant public defenders and O'Neill expects them to handle about 49,000 cases this fiscal year and the same number the next year.

The agency's attorneys average 220 cases a year - that's above the American Bar Association's optimal caseload standard of 150 cases.