Public defender staff paid lower than others
Some say those who defend poor clients should receive pay comparable to that of prosecutors they face in the courtroom."
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Newport News Mayor Joe Frank said the City Council has supported boosting pay for prosecutors in the Commonwealth's Attorney's office "because crime is such a serious problem, and we should leave no stone unturned."
But Frank said he doesn't "have a lot of personal interest in supporting" supplements for public defender attorneys.
"Given all the needs we have in the city and the budget, it might not be a good time to be looking at new programs," he said.
Good article in the daily press on atty wages for newport news and hampton public defenders. Starting salary of $48k, up 28% from $38 only 18 months ago.
The city, through mayor joe frank, says that they'll support supplemental pay for the prosecutors, because "crime is such a problem." But will not support supplements to defenders for the same reason. Then the article quotes the newport news chief prosecutor saying that low pay in the defenders office makes it hard to keep good representation, and that bad representation from defenders causes many cases to be remanded to trial for such issues, either costing more money to prosecute or making prosecution impossible due to much time between trials, thereby forcing prosecutors to move that retrials be dismissed for lack of testimoney. Mayor's a strange man, huh?
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