Public defense costs up after “extraordinary” first six months
NORWICH – The public defense budget needs to be beefed up following six months of what is being described as “extraordinary” cases tried so far this year.
The Chenango County Public Defender’s office originally budgeted $215,000 for assigned counsel expenses, but requested another $200,000 at a meeting of the Chenango County Finance Committee last week. The full cost of the most recent Peter Wlasiuk murder trial is not yet known, but the Public Defender’s office is asking for $100,000 to cover initial bills.
The department is responsible for hiring private litigators from outside the area whenever the court determines conflicts of interest in representing a defendant. This typically happens when there are personal affiliations, co-defendants in a case or when representing a new defendant puts the Public Defender’s office at odds with the interests of a prior one. For the high-profile Wlasiuk case, the third murder trial against a Chenango County man accused of killing his wife, Administrator Karri Beckwith said the department “had no way of knowing” how to budget for the trial.
“I’m sure you all realize that this has been an extraordinary year for us, above and beyond what we had before,” Beckwith said.
The additional appropriation would cover regularly anticipated expenses through year in addition to the following: Two other murder trials that cost $12,000; one three-year long family court case at $12,000; court stenographer’s transcripts at $20,000; appeals charges of $38,000; and expert witnesses and psychological evaluations bills totaling $25,000.
Members of the committee queried Public Defender John Cameron and Beckwith about ways to economize, from trading public defenders between counties or making the public defender a full-time position. Cameron said he hoped to meet with town court magistrates to discuss assigned counsel orders. Beckwith said sometimes townships don’t provide the county with the proper paperwork necessary for clients to be deemed eligible for public defense before putting them in jail.
The Chenango County Public Defender’s office originally budgeted $215,000 for assigned counsel expenses, but requested another $200,000 at a meeting of the Chenango County Finance Committee last week. The full cost of the most recent Peter Wlasiuk murder trial is not yet known, but the Public Defender’s office is asking for $100,000 to cover initial bills.
The department is responsible for hiring private litigators from outside the area whenever the court determines conflicts of interest in representing a defendant. This typically happens when there are personal affiliations, co-defendants in a case or when representing a new defendant puts the Public Defender’s office at odds with the interests of a prior one. For the high-profile Wlasiuk case, the third murder trial against a Chenango County man accused of killing his wife, Administrator Karri Beckwith said the department “had no way of knowing” how to budget for the trial.
“I’m sure you all realize that this has been an extraordinary year for us, above and beyond what we had before,” Beckwith said.
The additional appropriation would cover regularly anticipated expenses through year in addition to the following: Two other murder trials that cost $12,000; one three-year long family court case at $12,000; court stenographer’s transcripts at $20,000; appeals charges of $38,000; and expert witnesses and psychological evaluations bills totaling $25,000.
Members of the committee queried Public Defender John Cameron and Beckwith about ways to economize, from trading public defenders between counties or making the public defender a full-time position. Cameron said he hoped to meet with town court magistrates to discuss assigned counsel orders. Beckwith said sometimes townships don’t provide the county with the proper paperwork necessary for clients to be deemed eligible for public defense before putting them in jail.
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