Constitutional Law
Georgia Funds Shortage Leads to Lawyer Shortage in State Criminal Cases
Posted May 7, 2009, 12:04 pm CST
By Martha Neil
An ongoing state funding shortage has left a number of indigent criminal defendants in Georgia without lawyers.
A chronic problem of unpaid state legal bills, especially in expensive capital cases in which Georgia's public defenders are conflicted out of the representation, has made private lawyers unwilling to take on such cases, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
And a growing number of private attorneys who have already accepted state-funded criminal defense cases are being granted permission to withdraw over unpaid legal bills, the newspaper writes.
If state funding isn't forthcoming, criminal cases could be dismissed as a result of the impasse, the article suggests.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: "Stop Prosecuting Many Misdemeanors, Defense Counsel Group Suggests"