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Tennessee courts seek $17 million to stand up Office of Indigent Conflict and Civil Counsel to ensure appointed lawyers are available
Summary
The Administrative Office of the Courts proposed a new Office of Indigent Conflict and Civil Counsel that would employ attorneys, contract for representation, and manage appointments to reduce delays in criminal, juvenile and family cases.
Director Rebecca Long, representing the Administrative Office of the Courts on behalf of the Tennessee Supreme Court, asked the Finance, Ways and Means Committee to fund a new Office of Indigent Conflict and Civil Counsel and to provide other targeted resources for court operations.
"The burden of finding an attorney to appoint will no longer be on the judge," Long said, describing the central aim of the proposal. Under current practice judges must locate private attorneys when the public defender has a conflict; the AOC would instead employ and contract for counsel to ensure timelier appointments and to standardize compensation and oversight.
Nut graf: The AOC said recruiting attorneys to accept court‑appointed work has become difficult even after the legislature raised the hourly rate from $50 to $60. The…
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