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New public defender presents budget and proposes county collection of attorney-fees under OCGA 17-12-51
Summary
Joshua Brockington, the newly appointed public defender for the Atlantic Judicial Circuit, presented his office budget and outlined a proposal to collect attorney-fee reimbursements from convicted defendants under OCGA 17-12-51; commissioners approved his budget and discussed implementation details and timelines.
Joshua Brockington, the newly appointed public defender for the Atlantic Judicial Circuit, introduced himself to the Board and presented his office's budget and administrative plan, including a proposal to implement statutory attorney-fee collections under Georgia law.
Brockington cited OCGA 17-12-51 and described the statute: "OCGA 17 12 51, permits the repayment of cost of legal representation as a condition of probation unless it, imposes a financial hardship on the defendant." He said the county would be the collecting authority when the public defender is county-funded and that monies collected under the statute would go directly to the county where representation was provided. Brockington proposed adjusting base fines so the imposition of an attorney-fee condition would not unduly increase the defendant's overall expected payment, and he discussed a sample structure he had seen in other circuits where counties collected a modest attorney-fee amount as a condition of probation for convictions.
Brockington reviewed office staffing and coverage: he stated the office has a mix of state-funded and county-funded positions and contractors that cover multiple counties in the circuit. He said the office currently lists 7 attorneys (with other summary counts later in the presentation noting 8 total lawyers including contractors and 21 employees including contractors); he said he will continue outreach to the counties and probation to organize collection processes and to ensure payments are routed to the county fund established for this purpose.
Commissioners asked about timing and procedures. Brockington said he had discussed operational mechanics with probation and county staff and tentatively targeted July 1 as a start date subject to judicial approval and local processes. Commissioners approved Brockington's submitted budget during the meeting.
Next steps: Brockington and county staff will finalize implementation procedures with probation and judges, present a detailed methodology and timeline to the board if necessary, and begin administrative setup for collections contingent on judicial procedures and county accounting.
