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My name is Richard W. Youngman, Esq. I was admitted to the New York State Bar in March 1974. I served as an Assistant Public Defender for thirteen years and was actively involved as an 18-B panel member for five years. I am currently the Assigned Counsel Administrator in Monroe County, a position I have held for seven years.

The Monroe County Assigned Counsel Program assigns attorneys to represent indigent clients in cases where the Monroe County Public Defenders Office has a conflict of interest. We assign between 3200 – 3500 cases per year of which approximately 600 – 800 per year are A, B or C felonies.

Our office is currently experiencing difficulty in obtaining lawyers willing and able to accept assignment in these serious cases. We currently have 55 attorneys who have met the qualifications required for assignment to an A, B or C felony. This is down from a high of 87 attorneys. Of the 55 attorneys, five have not accepted an assignment in over a year and seven have asked to be temporarily removed from the ABC felony panel. In addition, many of the remaining attorneys take far fewer assignments than in the past.

The most often reason cited for not taking cases or for resigning from the program completely is economic. The attorneys state that it is just not economically feasible to take assigned cases. While for the most part they state that they know that assigned cases will never be a lucrative endeavor, most now state that the rates currently paid do not even cover the overhead costs of their respective offices.

The rates paid assigned counsel under Article 18-B of the County Law have not changed since 1986. They remain at $25.00 per hour for out of court work and $40.00 per hour for in court work. By contrast, assigned attorneys in capital cases receive $150 - $175 per hour and attorneys assigned in Federal Court receive $75.00 per hour. In addition, it is not unusual for the State of New York to pay $200 - $300 per hour to outside counsel for legal work performed on behalf of the State.

The panel members of the Monroe County Assigned Counsel Program are diligent, competent advocates and deserve to be fairly compensated for the important work they perform. Increasingly, because of the low reimbursement rates, the burden of indigent defense is falling on the shoulders of fewer and fewer attorneys who then become overburdened and overworked. Consequently, the quality of defense services must suffer as these attorneys suffer "burn-out" from the sheer volume of work. The younger attorneys on the misdemeanor panel attorney realize this dilemma and several have stated that they will not, though eligible to do so, move up to the serious felony panel. One has stated that he cannot afford to spend the time necessary to defend adequately a felony case at the rates currently paid. A panel member who provided written testimony to this hearing has expressed concern over how long the firm can continue to accept assigned cases at the rates paid and tells of the difficulty in bringing in young associates who also want to accept assigned cases.

I urge the State Senate and the State Assembly to amend Article 18-B of the County Law to increase the hourly rates paid assigned counsel to a level at least comparable to Federal Court and to substantially increase or eliminate the unrealistic statutory maximums imposed by the law. I also urge the Legislature to adopt legislation providing funding for any increase in assigned counsel fees. The financial burden of representation of the indigent should not fall exclusively on local government. The vast resources of the State should be used to provide a more uniform system of justice for the poor throughout the State. If the right to justice is to have meaning, it must have meaning to all citizens regardless of income. For the poor to receive justice, we must adequately compensate the attorneys who represent them.

Respectfully submitted,
Richard W. Youngman, Esq.
Monroe County Assigned Counsel Administrator

October 20, 1998