South Dakota lawyers got a raise from the state on January 1, just like our minimum wage workers. The state just raised the hourly rate for public defenders from $87 to $90. This order from Second Circuit Judge Larry Long explains the recent history of public defender pay:
Hourly rates for court appointed counsel are reviewed for adjustment each fall for the subsequent calendar year. Rate adjustments usually correspond to the annual across-the-board adjustments, if any, made to state employee salaries determined by the Legislature each year. That annual increase was 3% in 2007 and 3% in 2008. No increase was granted in 2009, 2010, or 2011, or 2012 and the hourly rate remained $82 for that period. For calendar year 2013 the hourly rate was $84, rising to $87 in 2014 [Judge Lawrence Long, "Rules for Compensation of Court Appointed Counsel in the Second Judicial Circuit of South Dakota," effective January 1, 2015].
The state Supreme Court makes the call, but it generally follows the pay parameters set by the Legislature for other folks working for the state. And this year, following the Legislature imposes a 3.45% cost increase on the counties who must pay for legal counsel for indigent citizens. An eager reader reminds me that SDCL 10-13-35 caps the amount by which counties may increase their property tax levies by no more than 3% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. For 2015, the county levy increase is capped at 1.4%.
The state is thus imposing costs increases on counties that the counties cannot cover without either cutting other budget items or opting out of the tax levy caps. Kinds takes the "optional" out of "opt out," don't you think?
many lawyers dread the call from the judge assigning a case out of the blue, damming the lawyers own schedule. pays less too, and criminal law is not everybody's (most) cup 'o tea. the lawyer has an ethical obligation to defend the case. murder, rape, you name it.
I've been going to the Minnehaha Co. commissioners mtgs. And this issue came up yesterday.The commissioners expressed concern over this and, last week, they'd expressed concerns with extra costs being incurred from the shift from the lock-them-up philosophy to diversions to drug and alcohol courts and treatments and couseling.They recognize these alternatives are better but it relieves the legislature of finding the resources to build new prisons while forcing the counties to raise property taxes.We still end up paying more taxes to provide justice and legal services but the legislators get to rest on their laurels and claim they "balanced the budget and didn't increase taxes". This seems very disingenuous to me. But it seems to work for them because they get the votes. I just wonder if the voters understand this shell game.
http://www.plainsman.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=72&story_id=25256
The attorneys benefiting from the pay raise described in this thread are not "public defenders," but are private attorneys appointed by the Courts on a case by case basis, and usually in rotation with other private attorneys. Most of these appointed attorneys engage in primarily civil law practices. For these private lawyers criminal appointments are outside their comfort zones and require more time and effort to even understand the criminal procedures and substantive laws involved.
Larger jurisdictions, such as Rapid City or Sioux Falls, saved substantial funds by establishing publicly funded programs in which lawyers only represent indigents in criminal cases. These lawyers, called "public defenders," are compensated with an annual salary rather than an hourly fee.
Great link larry - thanks!