Low Pay For State’s Appointed Attorneys Has Led To Ineffective Counsel, Study Says

A new study finds Wisconsin attorneys appointed to represent poor criminal defendants aren’t getting paid enough by the state to provide their clients with an adequate defense.

According to the study by the Sixth Amendment Center, the $40 an hour rate that appointed attorneys in Wisconsin receive is the lowest in the country. John Birdsall of the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers said that means many low-income defendants who qualify for an appointed attorney aren’t getting the effective counsel guaranteed under the constitution.

“A lot of these appointed cases go to younger, brand-new lawyers, or just lawyers who because of the financial pinch of working at a $40 an hour rate, cannot possibly — just by definition — give effective assistance of counsel,” said Birdsall.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1984 that defendants are not only guaranteed the right to an attorney under the Sixth Amendment, but to an attorney who provides “effective assistance of counsel.”

The study calls on the state Supreme Court to raise the pay for these attorneys to $85 an hour to cover overhead costs and account for inflation since the rate was established 30 years ago.

In 2011, the state Supreme Court rejected a petition calling for raise in the rate for pro bono attorneys in criminal cases, citing a tight state budget. But the study suggests that money the state is saving now by diverting many criminal cases to treatment courts should be rolled back into paying a higher rate to attorneys who represent indigent defendants.