Wednesday, August 15, 2001
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Wednesday, August 15, 2001 |
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Lawyer pitches public defender system to county By DAVE
HAMRICK
One of Fayette's top law firms, Bischoff and White PC, wants to take on the task of defending indigent clients in local courts on a contractual basis. County commissioners are mulling over the idea and asking for more information. Currently, a pool of lawyers handles indigent defense for a set rate of $ ** per hour, but Jim Bischoff, head of the firm, has offered to do the whole job for $250,000 a year (not including death penalty cases), about $50,000 less than it's costing under the current system. And that cost will go up, Bischoff said to affirmative nods from commissioners, as more retail development comes on line in the county. He promised even greater savings, claiming that his firm will be able to handle cases more efficiently, moving clients through the county's judicial system faster and reducing the jail population by 20 a day. "That would save you $328,000," Bischoff said. But it's not as simple as all that, commissioners said. "There will be cost savings" if the commission takes Bischoff up on his offer, said Chairman Greg Dunn, "but there are a number of other concerns that I have." If the county changes its method of hiring public defenders, it would be improper to do so without offering the contract for bid, said Commissioner Linda Wells. Bischoff said he would gladly submit a proposal in competition with other firms. Wells said other jurisdictions that have used a single contractor have reported problems. Dunn echoed that, saying he fears that, with one firm taking on so many clients, "there would be a disincentive for you to go to trial." Lawyers might be tempted to push clients to plea-bargain more often, he said. Bischoff said he would make sure that doesn't occur. "We are trial lawyers; that is what we do," he said. "That would never happen in a system that I was running. The one who makes the decision whether to go to trial is the client." And having all the cases under one firm will give his lawyers more time to prepare, he said. Bischoff's son, Brian, who handles numerous indigent cases for the firm now, said any law firm that plea bargains too often won't be taken seriously by prosecutors. "There'll be no negotiating on a plea if they know we're going to take a plea eventually," he said. "There has to be a professional relationship there that they know we're going to take the cases to trial that need to go to trial." Local judges are opposed to the idea, said Dunn and Wells, but Dunn added that judges had told him: "If there's anyone who can pull this off, it's Bischoff." "I think this has a lot of merit," said Commissioner Herb Frady, but he needs more information, he added. Dunn and commissioners Peter Pfeifer and A.G. VanLandingham also said they would like to hear more, but Wells said she is "not going to support this."
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