City Sued Over Pay for Court-Appointed Defense Lawyers

The city of Philadelphia is being sued for better pay for court-appointed defense attorneys, who are currently being paid according to a system negotiated in 1993-1994.

“I don’t know about you, but if I took my 1993 salary [today], I wouldn’t be doing very good right now,” said Samuel C. Stratton, lead attorney for the group of lawyers filing the complaint.

Inadequate Pay

Many experienced criminal attorneys are refusing appointments or withdrawing from cases because the current rates are “grossly inadequate,” the lawsuit said. Actual compensation sometimes only amounts to “$5 to $10 per hour.”

According to Stratton, pay rates for court-appointed attorneys were supposed to increase five to 10 percent annually under the 1993-94 agreement. But the only change that has been made is a increase in the homicide and felony preparation fees, he said.

Defendants Suffer

Court-appointed attorneys are different from public defenders in that they are private attorneys who accept cases when the court cannot appoint a public defender to a case, usually because of conflict of interest.

“For too long, we’ve played this sham. These defendants are getting fair representation,” Stratton said.

(Source: Philadelphia Daily News)

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