TX county wants less "free" attorneys for indigents accused of crimes

[rainbow4321]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/collin/stories/032805dnmetattycosts.5de9d.html

If you're poor, it's easier to get a free lawyer in Collin County than a free doctor. County taxpayers shelled out $5.3 million last year to provide attorneys for indigent people accused of crimes, records show. By comparison, the county spent less than $1 million on indigent health care.

To qualify for a free lawyer in Collin County, a single person can earn up to $11,962 a year (vs. $4,785 annually to get free medical care), according to county guidelines. The head of a family of four can make up to $24,187 to qualify for a court-appointed attorney (vs. $9,675 for indigent health care). "It's a flawed system," Commissioner Joe Jaynes said. "It's like criminals have more benefits than law-abiding citizens."


County officials blame the Fair Defense Act, a state law passed in 2001, for much of the rise in court-appointed attorney costs. It says that defendants must be provided a free attorney – if they qualify as indigent – within four days of being arrested. Previously, no guidelines existed, and defendants could sit in jail for weeks without representation, said Wesley Shackelford, special counsel to the Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense.


Collin County's indigent defense costs may soon drop – perhaps dramatically, officials say. When income verification is stepped up next month, fewer people may be granted court-appointed attorneys, and millions could be saved, officials say.

[napi21]

1. Can they do that?

Representation is guaranteed by LAW, free medical care is not.

When they say "income verification is going to be stepped up", does that mean they've been screwing up by not doing their job in the past, or are they planning on changing the $$ limits to be eligible?

[Richard Steele]

2. Let me hazard a guess:

Many of those requiring a free lawyer are probably Mexican citizens who work in Texas 'Under the Table', and therefore have no proof of their income.

SO: Income Verification" will mean, "Anyone who doesn't have a tax return that _PROVES_ they are poor will get no lawyer."


I'm just playing the odds, that any program they start is designed to screw the little guy, and will do the opposite of its name.

[rainbow4321]

3. Knowing Collin County...

They will make the income cut off sooo low, that hardly anyone will qualify. For their indigent medical program, a single individual has to make less than $2000/YEAR to get medical care..so unless there is a federal law saying what the $$ cut off has to be, they will make it as looooowwww as possible and then have 80 sheets of paper that make qualifying a very long process <as they do w/ the medical indigent program now>.
The county is that neon red blinking dot you see when you look at a TX map :puke:

[Zan_of_Texas]

6. Collin County, for the uninitiated.....

is the world headquarters for Diebold's election division. (Yes, Diebold's parent company is located in Ohio. But the election division is right there in Collin County -- McKinney, Texas.) Just so you know.

Collin County has a rather noncompassionate view of medical care for their citizens -- even compared to the rest of Texas. Surrounding counties are pissed at them because they get some of the people who can't get care in Collin.

[rainbow4321]

8. One of the voting stations...

was located INSIDE that headquarters building on Black Tuesday. Should have been a sign of things to come that day....

BTW, it is also the county that had people bitching about a voting location being in a local mosque, had people on the radio saying "it just didn't seem right".

on edit:
Another county tidbit: election officials sent off one machine's data base/hardware to a data lab in CANADA after letting the machine <and the votes INside of the machine> sit around for a WEEK after the election because no one locally could extract the voting data. Even the right wing rag Dallas Whoring News complained on their editorial about the stuff being sent outside the US. County officials got defensive, claiming there were no race results left hanging by the week-long delay in sending the data elsewhere...

[rainbow4321]

9. The county is freaking out about more minorities moving here...

The Plano school district, especially..they were bitching a few weeks ago that they would have to provide extra help for the at risk kids so our school district's test passing stats will stay inflated.

Wouldn't put it past any of the local officials here to use this little lawyer plan to shuffle lower income people off to jail <or deported> so their families have to leave the area. They have already fired the district's entire social worker dept...the people who looked after the at risk, lower income, potential drop outs, single teen moms who are trying to stay in school, etc....now they are going after the families/parents, apparently.

[LizW]

4. Here they go again

The Texas Fair Defense Attack has been attacked before, hasn't it? Didn't a group of law professors and constitutional law experts fight this off a couple of years ago?

These people are unbelievable. I hope the ACLU is all over this.

[Toots]

5. "It's like criminals have more benefits than law-abiding citizens."

The Republican "guilty until proved innocent" Why would he call them criminals before the fact. Just because someone needs an attorney does not mean they are a criminal..

[jburton]

7. This is Sam Johnson's (R-NukeSyria) district

Just to give you an idea of the area...