Post by SoulTrainOz on Jul 22, 2006 7:07:38 GMT -5
The California Supreme Court has approved a pay raise for court-appointed counsel to penniless death penalty appeal defendants, in at attempt to reel in more qualified attorneys, court automatic appeals monitor Robert Reichman said today.
As of today, 100 indigent people are sentenced to death in California without an attorney to represent them on appeal and related state hearings, according to Reichman. The state handles 20 to 40 more death sentences each year.
We have a "limited number of attorneys who can do these cases,'' he said. "The cases go on for several years and a lot of good attorneys don't like to be saddled with a death penalty appeal,'' he said. "The ones who do can only take a number of cases.''
However, according to the California Constitution, all criminal defendants have a right to counsel, even with death penalty appeals, which are automatic whether a sentenced defendant wants it or not, Reichman said.
Those defendants need to "wait their turn,'' he said, because there is a shortage of lawyers qualified and willing to take the cases at the appeal stage, when a defendant is usually destitute, either to begin with, or from high expenses for prior court proceedings.
"Their funds are limited at that point,'' he said. "Invariably there is no money left for the appeal,'' he said, mentioning that even Scott Peterson had a court-appointed lawyer picked up by taxpayers at the last stages of his case.
The $10 hourly pay increase means that for qualified lawyers representing destitute defendants sentenced to death, the hourly rate will increase to $140 for death penalty appeals in the state Supreme Court.
The hike would also apply to lawyers appointed to related state hearings on habeas corpus, to determine if an inmate is imprisoned lawfully, and executive clemency, where the governor has the authority to stop an execution.
The pay increase aims to ensure that an adequate number of qualified attorneys are willing to serve as court-appointed counsel in death penalty cases. It went into effect July 1 with the state's budget, which included funding for the raise.
A $10 per hour raise for state Court of Appeal court-appointed counsel representing indigent defendants in criminal and juvenile cases also went into effect July 1.
(source: Bay City News)
As of today, 100 indigent people are sentenced to death in California without an attorney to represent them on appeal and related state hearings, according to Reichman. The state handles 20 to 40 more death sentences each year.
We have a "limited number of attorneys who can do these cases,'' he said. "The cases go on for several years and a lot of good attorneys don't like to be saddled with a death penalty appeal,'' he said. "The ones who do can only take a number of cases.''
However, according to the California Constitution, all criminal defendants have a right to counsel, even with death penalty appeals, which are automatic whether a sentenced defendant wants it or not, Reichman said.
Those defendants need to "wait their turn,'' he said, because there is a shortage of lawyers qualified and willing to take the cases at the appeal stage, when a defendant is usually destitute, either to begin with, or from high expenses for prior court proceedings.
"Their funds are limited at that point,'' he said. "Invariably there is no money left for the appeal,'' he said, mentioning that even Scott Peterson had a court-appointed lawyer picked up by taxpayers at the last stages of his case.
The $10 hourly pay increase means that for qualified lawyers representing destitute defendants sentenced to death, the hourly rate will increase to $140 for death penalty appeals in the state Supreme Court.
The hike would also apply to lawyers appointed to related state hearings on habeas corpus, to determine if an inmate is imprisoned lawfully, and executive clemency, where the governor has the authority to stop an execution.
The pay increase aims to ensure that an adequate number of qualified attorneys are willing to serve as court-appointed counsel in death penalty cases. It went into effect July 1 with the state's budget, which included funding for the raise.
A $10 per hour raise for state Court of Appeal court-appointed counsel representing indigent defendants in criminal and juvenile cases also went into effect July 1.
(source: Bay City News)