17 March 2004

Virginia is the State which pays the least for defense of indigent Defendants:
Since 1971, for example, Virginia has increased the average amount it pays court-appointed lawyers by $12 per case. The average amount paid in 1971 was $233; today, it's $245.
The solution our legislators come up with? Add bureaucracy and refuse to pay.

You can see my previous postings on this here and here.

As an aside, I went to this page and according to it (depending on which conversion method used) $233 in 1971 is $851, $1,620, or $2,270 in modern times. The modern era is actually 2003; the site wouldn't allow 2004. The numbers are from GDP deflator, GDP per capita, and GDP - the other two conversions would not work. Now, I am not an economics major so I know I am probably leaving myself open to serious criticism here but even if the numbers aren't exactly right they do tend to show how inadequate the current amount of payment has become.

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