Virginia ranks dead last in the nation for pay for court-appointed attorneys, but, thanks in large part to the threat of a lawsuit, local public defender Jim Hingeley thinks that soon will change.
“I usually go into the budgeting season feeling encouraged…but then when the budgeting season is over and the legislature adjourns, I’m discouraged,” said Hingeley, speaking at the September 22 meeting of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Charlottesville-Albemarle Public Defender Office. “At the risk of repeating that cycle, I do want to say that I think this is different.”
Public defender offices represent clients who can’t afford to pay. In those places where there are no public defenders’ offices—or where those offices are too backed up or there is a conflict of interest in representing co-defendants—lawyers are court-appointed.
Hingeley is serving on a task force set up by Governor Tim Kaine to improve indigent defense, and he’s hopeful that this time, they will up wages. The task force has discussed drastically raising (or even abolishing) caps on how much court-appointed attorneys can get paid per case, as well as increasing pay, number of positions and other aspects of State public defender offices.
During the meeting, Hingeley alluded to many of the woes that come from receiving such paltry pay in comparison to compensation for prosecutors. Turnover rates have been relatively high and the office handles 50 percent more cases than it should, according to Hingeley.
But he says with the new governor, attorney general—and pending lawsuit—he’s encouraged. “We should be an equal partner at the table,” said Hingeley, “but, at least if not being seen as an equal partner, I think we’re at least sitting in the back seat now, instead of running along behind the car.”