NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — One job in Tennessee hasn't had a pay increase in 26 years, and according to the Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Cour the pay rate for court-appointed attorneys is making defendants wait a long time for justice.
Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly Kirby says judges are struggling across the state to administer justice in their courtrooms because they have a hard time finding lawyers to represent people who have a right to legal counsel.
“Court proceedings can’t happen without court-appointed attorneys, but attorneys can’t afford to take cases at the current rates. The criminal justice and juvenile court systems are running out of options,” said Kirby.
In Tennessee the state pays them a reimbursement rate of $50 an hour.
One judge in Henry County says her list of available attorneys for either general sessions or juvenile cases is the shortest it has been in her 17 years on the bench. It’s causing the court to struggle with holding preliminary hearings in the time frame required by law.
The state supreme court says one of the main reasons for the shortage is attorneys not being able to afford to take cases at the current rates. Tennessee’s reimbursement rate for court-appointed attorneys is the lowest in the country. It has not changed since 1997. There are fee caps in place for almost all cases, and lawyers are reimbursed at the end of the case.
"If the child is 6 years old, they're going to represent that child for 12 years in numerous court hearings and they're going to be paid for $1,500 for the total of 12 years," said William Koch, president and dean of the Nashville School of Law.
The Administrative Office of the Courts will make a significant budget request to support increasing the attorney hourly rate to $80 in its proposed budget for FY 2024-25.
“Paying lawyers such low rates do not make the cases go away. It just means cases are delayed, overturned, or returned to the trial court on appeal. That doesn’t help anyone,” Chief Justice Kirby said. “Victims are left waiting without justice and are retraumatized by additional proceedings. Children linger in foster care. Witnesses move and misremember, evidence deteriorates. It’s not efficient or cost-effective. Our citizens expect and deserve a fair, efficient, unbiased justice system. Right now, these issues hinder us from being able to give it to them. We look forward to working with judges, the General Assembly, the Governor’s Office, and all others concerned with the administration of justice to resolve the problem.”
A 2017 Indigent Representation Task Force that included judges, attorneys, legislators and others found the rate inadequate and recommended raising it to between $75 to $125 an hour. Since then, the Supreme Court has made multiple budget requests for funds to increase the rate or otherwise support the program, but it has only received enough to eliminate the difference between in-court and out-of-court work and increase caps.
In January 2023, the Administrative Office of the Courts worked with the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury to determine whether the state is meeting its constitutional and statutory obligation to provide citizens effective assistance of counsel. Specifically, the Comptroller reviewed the impact on the court system of the low hourly rate of compensation for appointed counsel in non-capital cases.
The Comptroller’s investigation is still pending.
"This is beyond the pale," said attorney Tia Bailiff. "We're losing people. This is a problem, and as judges they need us and the children need us and the criminal defendants need us."
The Administrative Office of the Courts says hopefully their request will help to stabilize the criminal justice and juvenile court systems.
