Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 13, 1995 TAG: 9504180050
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium
Christopher P. Shema, a Chesapeake lawyer, contended that the system jeopardizes effective legal representation for the poor.
Shema said statistics show Virginia ranks among the lowest states for the maximum amount that state law allows court-appointed lawyers to be paid.
Shema made his motion to Circuit Judge John C. Morrison Jr., who is overseeing two drug cases in which Shema has been appointed to represent the defendants.
Morrison called the fee structure ``reprehensibly and shamefully low'' but said it is up to the General Assembly, not the courts, to address the issue.
``The system needs to be improved but I think ... it needs to be improved legislatively,'' he said.
At issue is more than keeping down lawyers' fees. A December 1994 study by the state Supreme Court said the poor may not receive adequate defenses because the low pay encourages court-appointed lawyers to scrimp on ``reasonable and prudent expenses,'' including investigations into a defendant's guilt or innocence.
The General Assembly, which establishes the court-appointed attorneys' fees, is setting up a subcommittee to study the issue and make recommendations to the 1996 session.
Shema, who handles many court-appointed cases, said he has been troubled by Virginia's fee structure system for at least two years and recently decided to do something.
``It tore me up so much I finally decided I could no longer participate in an immoral system,'' he said. ``I will not lower my standards of representation, and I'm not a saint. I'm not a martyr. I'm not independently wealthy. I simply won't do it.''
In Virginia's Juvenile and General District courts, court-appointed lawyers receive a maximum of $100 to defend a case. In Circuit Court, $575 is the maximum paid in non-capital felony cases punishable by 20 years to life. The maximum to defend other felonies is $265. Misdemeanors punishable by jail time that are tried in Circuit Court have a cap of $132.
Virginia's caps are the lowest in the nation, according to the state Supreme Court study. Twenty-one states have no caps on fees, while 23 others have set a cap of $1,000 or higher.
``I'd like to believe as professionals that none of us would put our interests above a client's,'' said Fay Spence, who has handled court-appointed cases for eight years. ``But it's easy to take a plea bargain, even lean on a client to take a plea bargain, if you've already put in more time than your case is worth.''
by CNB