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Hubbard County board raises court-appointed attorney rate to $100 per hour
Summary
Following testimony from court administration about difficulty recruiting attorneys for child protection cases, the board raised the county's court-appointed attorney rate from $75 to $100 per hour and agreed to revisit the rate next June.
The Hubbard County Board of Commissioners voted to increase the hourly compensation for court-appointed attorneys from $75 to $100 after a presentation from the court administrator that cited difficulty recruiting experienced counsel for child-protection cases.
Carissa Scholes, court administrator for Hubbard County, told the board, "We have been having difficulties, getting attorneys to take child protection cases. Right now, we only have about 2 that will... take them if they are available." She presented a comparative table of surrounding counties' rates and noted Hubbard was the lowest in the area. County Attorney John Olsen recommended $100 per hour, Scholes said.
Board members discussed a phased approach versus an immediate jump. One commissioner said a direct move to $125 would be a 66% increase and preferred incremental raises, while others said market pressures and neighboring counties' recent increases made a faster raise necessary. A motion to set the rate to $100 per hour and revisit the matter next June carried on a board vote.
Staff told the board the county has budget capacity in 2025 to accommodate the increase and that historical spending on appointed counsel has been below the authorized budgeted amount in recent years. The board directed staff to report back with updated data at the next review.
The change aims to expand the pool of available attorneys for child-protection cases; the board did not adopt a later specific schedule to increase the rate to $125, but agreed to reconsider next June.
