The Richmond paper reports here ("Va. pays low fees to lawyers," 3/12/05) on the deplorable state of Virginia's compensation for the lawyers who represent indigent criminal defendants in state court.
The article begins: "The fees Virginia pays court-appointed lawyers for defending the poor have been the lowest, or among the lowest, in the country for at least three decades."
The article includes speculation that there will be federal court litigation to try to compel greater fees.
The article notes that in Georgia, litigation over court-appointed fees resulted in the establishment of a statewide public defender system.
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