April 2008 In the News
A select few get the cases, and the cash; 4/19/2008
HOUSTON CHRONICLE: A relatively small group of attorneys, some of them old friends and all financial backers of judges handing out work, regularly receives close to half of all the tax-funded appointments to represent the poor in the juvenile courts, a Houston Chronicle analysis has found. The system, criticized as cronyism by some, has made several attorneys between $100,000 and $200,000 a year on the public dime, according to county payment records from January 2005 to February 2008.
Public defender system has its critics; 4/19/2008
HOUSTON CHRONICLE: When Texas overhauled its indigent defense system in 2001, politicians aimed to eliminate the patronage system. State Sen. Rodney Ellis, who masterminded the Texas Fair Defense Act, says it made some improvements but not enough. "We are starting to campaign now," he said of his recent push for Harris County to create a public defenders office. There are eight public defenders offices serving juveniles in the state. Travis County has one.