Low assigned-counsel fees incentivize attorneys to take overwhelming caseloads and avoid trials.
Evidence
Under an assigned counsel system, the judge appoints private attorneys from a list of available lawyers to represent indigent defendants. In a few jurisdictions, this service is considered a professional obligation, and the attorney is not paid; but in most, the lawyer receives a_reduced fee. Although this system disperses the responsibility of defending the poor among all practicing attorneys, the defendant runs the risk of being represented by a lawyer who lacks expertise in criminal law. Also, given the low hourly rate paid under this system, attorneys who rely on assigned cases for their livelihood may take on far too many cases. For example, in 2000, one New York City attorney was appointed to represent 1,600 defendants, earning $125,000. An overburdened attorney may not be able to devote adequate time to On cases, nor can such an attorney afford to take many cases to trial.? — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1656
Categorization
- CANDY: A single New York attorney appointed to 1,600 defendants in one year is the kind of number that lands instantly in conversation.
- XREF: Ties to the course’s focus on whether equal protection and due process guarantees are met in practice, not just on paper. — connects to: Contingent fees can create attorney-client conflicts over settlement versus trial. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 744; Attorneys treat contingent fee cases as a risk-and-reward portfolio. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 743; A surplus of cheap lawyers increases litigation and legal uncertainty — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 1840 (+8 more)
Broader Connections
- Fixed legal fees eliminate material incentives for zealous advocacy
#corroborates(1.00) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 637 - A surplus of cheap lawyers increases litigation and legal uncertainty
#expands(0.90) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 1840 - Litigation costs drove the lawyers to genuine personal financial ruin
#expands(0.90) — Jonathan Harr, A Civil Action, 2717 - Indigent clients distrust appointed defense counsel for being part of the prosecutorial system
#complicates(0.85) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 693 - Inadequate defense counsel in capital cases produces wrongful convictions and exonerations
#qualifies(0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2050 - Contingency fees make personal injury the main exception to one-shotters avoiding litigation
#complicates(0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1114 - Litigating a contingency case can bankrupt the lawyer who files it.
#qualifies(0.80) — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action, 17 - Rejecting consultant advice on jury selection may cost the outcome.
#complicates(0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 837 - Legal clinics lower fees through scale, paralegals, and standardized forms.
#responds-to(0.70) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1132