July 13, 2007

Some poor people accused of federal crimes are represented by full-time federal public defenders who earn salaries, others by court-appointed lawyers who bill by the hour. ...

... [A] study concludes that lawyers paid by the hour are less qualified and let cases drag on even as they achieve worse results for their clients, including sentences that average eight months longer. Appointed lawyers also cost taxpayers $61 million a year more than salaried public defenders would.

(Adam Liptak, NY Times, Jul. 13).