From Bluegrass Politics Blog, Beth Musgrave:
By Beth Musgrave
on State Government
FRANKFORT
— A bill that would give $4.7 million to the state’s public defenders
and an additional $4.7 million to the state’s prosecutors this fiscal
year passed the House Tuesday, but not without a more than an hour-long
debate.
Without the funds, the Department of Public Advocacy has warned it will
run out of money by the end of April and can’t fulfill its
constitutional obligation to represent poor criminal defendants.
House Bill 433, deemed a “clean-up” measure to correct problems in a
budget bill that passed both chambers last month, also contained a list
of new projects that many members said didn’t belong in the bill.
Other stories of a similar vein reported at the Bluegrass Politics blog are:
By Beth Musgrave
on State Government
FRANKFORT
— A legislative panel dug up $4.7 million Monday for the agency that
represents poor criminal defendants in court, potentially averting a
shut down of the Department of Public Advocacy next month.
That fiscal shot in the arm is one of several provisions contained in a
revision to the state’s budget approved Monday by the House
Appropriations and Revenue Committee.
By John Stamper
on State Government
FRANKFORT,
Ky. -- A judge said Monday he will rule "in the next few days" on
whether to dismiss a lawsuit that public defenders filed against the
state alleging they've been allotted inadequate funding to handle
excessive case loads.
Franklin County Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate took no action in the case
during a hearing Monday.
Department of Public Advocacy spokesman Jessie W. Luscher distributed a
statement on Friday saying that when funding runs out in May, public
defenders will "be unable to provide any representation whatsoever in
any court."
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