Mahoning County will pay more for indigent defense

It has been a long time coming, but we wonder if the increase in the amount Mahoning County will pay for court-appointed lawyers will result in a less dysfunctional criminal justice system.

We can hear the question now from members of the bar association: Why would you link what is an issue of fairness to one that has become a subject of public debate?

The answer is that the word dysfunctional to describe the criminal justice system in Mahoning County came from a federal court-appointed special master who oversaw the county jail. Atty. Vincent M. Nathan of Toledo didn’t pull any punches when he said the entire system — law enforcement agencies, the prosecutor’s office, the courts and the jail — needs to be straightened out.

So, when we read that the Mahoning County commissioners had succumbed to pressure from the bar association and had agreed to raise the hourly fees for court-appointed lawyers, we couldn’t help but look at the big picture.

After all, the people of Mahoning County knew long before Atty. Nathan conducted his evaluation that the criminal justice system was in need of an overhaul.

But as we said at the outset, the increase in fees is long overdue. The $30 an hour paid by the county for out-of-court legal representation, and $40 an hour for in-court activities have been in place for more than two decades.

Indeed, more than five years ago, a representative of the Ohio Public Defender’s Office told commissioners that the amount paid for court-appointed lawyers to represent indigent defendants was the near the lowest in the state.

But while officials throughout county government agreed that something had to be done, no one was sure how to do it.

The county’s dire financial condition prevented commissioners from raising the fees.

State money

The issue came to a head last fall when J. Gerald Ingram, bar association president and a leading criminal lawyer, threatened that the group might urge the state to withhold about $300,000 a year from the county in state funds. Ingram, who had removed his name from the list of lawyers willing to take court-appointed cases, wanted the commissioners to enact adequate rates within a reasonable time.

They did that last week, increasing the out-of-court hourly rate to $40 and in-court hourly rate to $50, retroactive to Jan. 1.

On Jan. 1, 2009, the rates will be $45 and $55; and, $50 and $60, effective Jan. 1, 2010.

The phase-in was a compromise, Ingram said. But, he will now put his name back on the list and will encourage other lawyers who had similarly refused to take such cases to return.

The price tag for this year’s increases could be as high as $2.6 million. The county has budgeted $1.85 million in its general fund.

In 2007, the county spent $1.8 million on indigent defense — $500,000 more than it shelled out in 2006.

The steep increase in such spending is cause for concern. Given the ever-rising crime rate in the county, we wonder if there is a cheaper solution.

As a starting point, we join Commissioner John McNally and county Administrator George Tablack in urging the judges to control indigent representation costs by thoroughly screening defendants to determine which ones are truly unable to pay for their own defense.

Beyond that, we believe the commissioners should investigate the creation of a public defender’s office, similar to what Trumbull County has long had.

It is noteworthy that in 2002, commissioners considered creating such an office. Again, nothing was done.

But in light of the report on the criminal justice system from the special master, Nathan, we wonder if he would be willing to help the county determine the economically feasible of such a move — and if indigent defendants can be assured of proficient representation.