County appeals fees for conscripted attorneys

Expected 143 cases to come before appellate court

The state Court of Appeals will now have a chance to weigh in on how much compensation conscripted attorneys in Grant County should receive for indigent defense.

Grant County prosecutors filed notices of discretionary review and notices of appeal for 15 cases with the state Court of Appeals in Spokane last week. Grant County Prosecuting Attorney John Knodell said the county plans to appeal all cases involving indigent-defense attorneys, which number 143.

The appellate court is scheduled to hear the matter on July 8, but the prosecutor's office is asking for an extension, hopefully for 45 days, Grant County Deputy Prosecutor Lyliane Sheetz said.

At issue is who determines the fees paid to local attorneys conscripted to provide indigent defense earlier this year after the disbarment of public defender Tom Earl. In setting up a temporary system, superior court judges deemed conscripted should be paid 82.5 percent of their normal hourly fees, which reached $150 per hour for some attorneys.

The attorney hired for county commissioners, Jerry Moberg, has argued in court that conscripted attorneys should be paid what he called a more reasonable fee — $50 per hour.

Additionally, Moberg argued he feared the system set up a "constitutional crisis" with the judicial branch of the county ordering the legislative branch — the commissioners — to appropriate funds.

The difference in the number of dollars between the judge's system and the commissioners is significant. Commissioners approved $80,000 on June 8 to be paid to conscripted attorneys at $550 per case, with the leftovers devoted to court costs, such as hiring court investigators.

No money has yet been paid out to conscripted attorneys, so no definitive tally exists of exact costs. But early estimates from the commissioners' office have indicated a potential shortfall of about $1 million because of the unbudgeted attorneys' fees.

Appellate court commissioners must decide whether to hear the notices of discretionary review, according the Court of Appeals Web site.

For notices of appeal, which are filed only for completed cases, the five-member court will review all pertinent documents of each case, which can often take a year or more. Knodell said he feels these cases can be handled in less than a year.

Knodell added that he will not speculate what may happen if the if the appellate court rejects the appeals.

"I want to take it one step at a time," Knodell said.

Evan Sperline, presiding judge of the Superior Court, said the three Superior Court judges have not discussed what to do if the Court of Appeals upholds the appeal.

However, he did say he will appreciate the input of those judges.

"We look forward to whatever clarification the Court of Appeals provides," Sperline said.