Friday, January 25, 2008
Overload of indigent cases has attorneys stretched thin.Members of the S.C. Bar's House of Delegates say the indigent defense requirement is creating a significant strain on the system, even with the one-time $2.5 million infusion that came from the Legislature last year.
As it currently operates, the requirement is essentially an unfunded government mandate, some say. "We've reached the tipping point," Brad Waring of Charleston, past Bar president, told delegates at Charleston Place.
As a part of their lawyer licenses, attorneys in South Carolina can be assigned up to 10 indigent cases a year, often in the realm of civil guardian work for children or the mentally disabled, Waring said. Last year, there were more than 6,500 such cases statewide. In addition, there were nearly 3,800 criminal case appointments.
The requirement is especially burdensome in smaller, rural counties where there are fewer lawyers to go around.
