Maine Lawyers Who Represent Indigent Defendants Will Have to Wait for $50-an-Hour Pay
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Lawyers who are assigned to represent criminal defendants in Maine won’t be paid during the month of June because the Indigent Legal Defense Commission has run out of money.
Lawyers will get paid in July when the new fiscal year begins, the Bangor Daily News reports. Bangor lawyer Aaron Frey, who received his law license in 2008, told the newspaper that end-of-the-year reimbursement is an “age-old problem.” Lawyers also went without pay for a period last year and in 2008, the story says.
“It’s hard for talented attorneys to stay involved in this kind of criminal work when they are not getting paid,” Frey said.
Other lawyers contacted by the newspaper were more concerned about their hourly pay for indigent defense. It’s $50 an hour, the same amount paid since 1999.
