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Thursday, August 19, 2010

Ind. Courts - "Pauper attorney costs scrutinized" in Tippecanoe County

Sophia Voravang reports today in the Lafayette Journal Courier:

Defendants in criminal cases in Tippecanoe County would have to provide better proof that they cannot afford a private attorney if the Tippecanoe County Council has a say.

Faced with another tight budget for 2011, the council is asking all departments to look at how costs can be trimmed, said council president Andy Gutwein, R-District 4.

One suggestion to Tippecanoe County's judges and magistrates was whether tougher guidelines are needed to determine if a defendant qualifies for a public defender.

According to Gutwein, that was prompted by growing expenses from the public defender's office and pauper attorneys appointed by judges.

"We just want to make sure that the judges are making a proper assessment as to someone's indigency," he said. "We want to make sure that judges are reviewing that carefully. * * *

Tippecanoe County does not have the resources to follow up on whether someone is lying about working or what property he owns, [Magistrate Norris] Wang said. He estimates that on Mondays, the busiest days for initial hearings, about half of the defendants ask for a public defender.

One possible solution to cutting costs -- and monitoring defendants -- would be creating a court administrator. Tippecanoe County is the largest county in Indiana without that position, [Tippecanoe Circuit Court Judge Don] Daniel said.

For background, start with this ILB entry from Aug. 9, 2009, headed "Channel 6 finds public defender appointed upon request, with no effort at determining financial need."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 19, 2010 09:05 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts