Tag: indigent representation

Federal judiciary warned of effects of budget shortfall

A press release from the U.S. Courts highlights concerns that Congressional inaction on the federal budget will leave the federal courts about $800 million short of what they need to operate in the coming year.

The judicial branch has requested $9.4 billion in discretionary funding for Fiscal Year 2026. (If that sounds like a lot, consider that the discretionary budget for the Department of the Interior alone was nearly double that amount for FY2025, and the judiciary is an entire branch of government.) However, the requested amount is hardly assured. If Congress chooses to operate under another full-year continuing resolution for the coming year instead of passing a new budget, the courts would expect to receive only $8.6 billion, a nearly 10% shortfall in requested funds.

More limited appropriations could hurt the federal courts’ implementation of courthouse security and cybersecurity measures, IT modernization, and funding attorneys for indigent defendants. The new Fiscal Year starts October 1.

Tennessee to implement changes to help indigent representation

A task force appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court has recommended significant changes to the state’s program to provide attorneys for those who cannot afford them, and the court itself has resolved to act on those recommendations.

The Chattanoogan reports:

One key change is an increase in the amount attorneys are paid to work on such cases, a compensation rate that has not changed in 20 years. The Court will seek funding to increase the rates to $65 per hour, from the current $40 per hour for work outside court and $50 hourly for time spent in court. Additionally, current rules “cap” compensation on most cases at $1,000 or $1,500. The Court will request an appropriation in next year’s budget to raise the caps by $500 on all felonies and by $250 on juvenile matters.

Additionally, the Court is endorsing the recommendations to establish an appellate division of the public defenders’ offices to handle all appeals involving those offices, as well as to establish a conflicts division to facilitate representation of more indigent defendants by public defenders in lieu of private attorneys being appointed to the cases.

The entire Task Force report can be found here.