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Friday, December 07, 2007
Ind. Courts - Hamilton County spent $1 million on pauper attorneys
Tania E. Lopez of the Indianapolis Star reports today that begins:
NOBLESVILLE -- Hamilton County may change the way it handles assigning court-appointed attorneys if an ongoing evaluation proves criminal defendants lie about their incomes to avoid shelling out money for legal fees.
Court administrator Ollie Schierholz said the county paid about $1 million last year to provide court-appointed attorneys to defendants, and he wants to make sure the money was well spent.The county does not currently screen defendants for income level.
When defendants claim to be indigent, the court hires private attorneys for them because the county doesn't employ a public defender.
The state would reimburse the county for the cost of a full-time public defender, Schierholz said, but not for the private attorneys. Caseloads of people claiming to be indigent have steadily risen along with the county's population, he said.
County officials have discussed creating a public defender position, said County Councilman Meredith Carter.
"We've talked about it, but it's too expensive," Carter said, noting that besides the cost of paying the defender, there would be additional expenses, such as benefits and office space.
And, he said, there's apprehension about the reimbursement program. "Sometimes when (the state) runs out of money, they don't pay anything."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 7, 2007 07:51 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts