Court-appointed defense lawyers sue for better pay

A group of criminal-defense attorneys is filing a lawsuit in federal court today with the goal of achieving a fairer compensation system for court-appointed lawyers, and, thus, better representation for indigent defendants.

The complaint, to be filed by lead attorney Samuel C. Stretton, asks U.S. District Court in Philadelphia to order the city to provide adequate funding to pay court-appointed lawyers.

If the city fails, the complaint asks federal court to prohibit all criminal trials involving court-appointed lawyers from being held in city courts until an adequate system is set up.

"For too long, we've played this sham," Stretton said yesterday. "These defendants aren't getting fair trials."

The compensation system for court-appointed lawyers has basically not changed since 1993-94, when Stretton last negotiated the system now largely in effect.

"These rates, they're 1993," Stretton said. "I don't know about you, but if I took my 1993 salary [today], I wouldn't be doing very good right now."

The "grossly inadequate" rates sometimes result "in actual compensation of only $5 to $10 per hour," the suit contends. "As a result, many experienced criminal-defense lawyers refuse to accept court appointments and are withdrawing from the list or have already withdrawn."

The suit names as defendants Common Pleas Court; President Judge C. Darnell Jones II; Judge D. Webster Keogh, administrative judge of the Trial Division; Mayor Nutter, and the city solicitor's office.

Court-appointed lawyers are private attorneys who have agreed to take on cases involving indigent defendants. The court system would generally first appoint a public defender, but cannot do so if there is a conflict.

Stretton said that as part of the 1993-94 negotiations, payment rates were supposed to be raised by between 5 percent and 10 percent a year.

But, that has not happened.

The only change has been an increase a few years ago in the homicide preparation fee to $2,000 and in the felony preparation fee to $650, the suit says.

The other lawyers listed as plaintiffs on the suit are Mingo Stroeber, Leanne Litwin and Bruce Wolf.

"It's really about the clients and the quality of the representation," Litwin said yesterday.

Judge Keogh said yesterday that it would be inappropriate for him to comment right now.

"Once something is filed, we'll look at whatever issue the complaint raises," he said. *