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Lawsuit targets Augusta The Augusta Judicial Circuit Tripartite Indigent Defense Committee filed the petition in Richmond County Superior Court against the city government and each member of the Augusta Commission. The petition seeks a court order that would force the city to fund the committee's recently created Richmond County Public Defender Office at a "level consistent with that set for prosecutors." According to county finance records, that would be more than $1.14 million. The city and the commissioners can contest the petition at a hearing, which has not been scheduled. The city gave the indigent defense committee an extra $350,000 in November. The petition says that wasn't enough to provide adequate defense to the poor charged with misdemeanor and traffic offenses in Richmond County State Court. The committee had asked for an extra half-million dollars. According to the petition, the Richmond County Public Defender Office needs more money to:
The indigent defense committee - responsible for appointing and paying for attorneys to represent poor defendants in Richmond, Columbia and Burke counties - faced a budget crisis last fall. According to the petition, the committee had no choice but to establish a public defender system for people charged with minor crimes because of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Alabama v. Shelton. The ruling means that attorneys must be appointed in any case if a defendant could be jailed immediately or after probation is revoked, according to the petition filed Wednesday. "The other counties in the Augusta Judicial Circuit ... have provided and continued to provide sufficient funding," according to the petition, which says that only Richmond County has not done so. The petition also refers to the Southern Center for Human Rights, which has expressed concern that defendants in Richmond County are not properly advised of their right to counsel and are encouraged to plead guilty without an attorney. Those concerns can be addressed only by giving more money to the public defender office, according to the petition. The committee alleges the city could lose state funds - $292,161 in 2002 - because the public defenders might represent so many defendants that the representation could be ruled inadequate and, therefore, unconstitutional. According to county finance records, the petition seeks as much money for indigent defense for minor cases as was spent for poor people accused of all crimes - felony, misdemeanor and juvenile - in 2002 - $1.3 million. Only 65 percent of the total was paid for court-appointed legal fees, according to finance department records. |
