Tennessee has not changed the rate
of pay for court appointed lawyers — $40 for each hour of preparation
and $50 per hour in court — in more than 20 years. State law caps those fees in
most cases, yet the top of the pay range is $5,000, reported the Tennessean.
Defense lawyers from around Tennessee on Friday painted
a dismal picture of the state's system of providing attorneys for the
poor, saying it fails to provide sufficient legal representation
to everyone in need.
They spoke to judges, lawyers and lawmakers who sit on
the Tennessee Supreme Court-appointed Indigent Representation Task Force. The task force is on a
listening tour around the state to hear ideas how to change the $36 million
system designated to help poor people involved in the criminal and civil legal
systems.
Recently at Nashville School of Law, the task force
heard lawyers say they can barely make ends meet trying to help the
poor and public defenders raise an alarm their offices are
overworked.
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