IndianaInjury

By Ralphyer Hagan

 The attorney count is dropping for those who will take on poor criminal defendants in one eastern state's three biggest counties. A legislative committee was told today that it was about to reach a critical point. Judicial authorities from these jurisdictions stated that compensation for lawyers willing to handle the representation of poor criminal defendants ought to be raised, perhaps doubled, from present levels.


A particular judge indicated that his jurisdiction maintains a roster of folks, many of whom are lawyers, possessing under three years of work history, wishing to contribute to the greater good by undertaking the representation of poor defendants. Also, he said that the past few years have seen a decrease in the volunteer list, and most of them are stopping because it's not financially feasible. The judge says that the low reimbursement rates mean that less experienced attorneys are the only ones on the list. His recommendation is that compensation for hours worked both inside and outside the courtroom needs to be increased substantially.

Tons more money is to be had by working with civil suits and drawing up wills and deeds. The judge reminded the legislators that it wasn?t fair to ask the attorneys to continue to lose money while offering their services to the state. A very large percentage of the state's criminal cases need appointed counsel. Some lawyers lose more on appointed criminal cases.

Indigent case attorney fees were reduced a couple of decades ago because of a budget cut. The hourly rates that lawyers were reimbursed for both in court time and out of court hours was severely cut. The state is paying just about what they paid twenty years ago. Requesting that the committee minimally restore the prior rates per hour, a different county judge agreed with his colleague's legitimate concern.

This judge has also seen a huge number of attorneys who have left the volunteer list in his court, and the court has suffered for it. The prior levels would bring back in a portion of the attorneys whom they have lost, and help them to retain the services of other ones which they would possibly lose going forward, if the pay rates were reset, he stated. He emphasizes the fact that the program itself has merit, but just worries that the lawyers need to receive more money.

Even though one county has over 300 lawyers working in it, there are very few who will take the indigent cases. And, the number who will is shrinking daily. According to one county judge, approximately 90% of lawyers who have asked to be dropped from the volunteer list pointed to inadequate compensation as the main reason. One judge submitted testimony which clearly stated about twenty-five percent of the attorneys in his district will do indigent work. The original list has lost even more members, causing that number to slip further. The legislative committee who oversees this issue has taken no further action.

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