Post by Logan on Jan 26, 2016 14:07:26 GMT -6
MONTPELIER — The Vermont Judiciary has done a poor job of collecting millions of dollars in fees for state-appointed public defenders, according to an audit report released Monday by Auditor Doug Hoffer.
The state has failed to collect more than $2 million in fees over the past three years, Hoffer wrote in a letter to judicial officials, Gov. Peter Shumlin, House Speaker Shap Smith and Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell.
“We found that the state’s processes to collect court-ordered payments are not effective. The state has collected less than a third of the $3.1 million in court-ordered assessments for public defender services due between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2014,” Hoffer wrote in the letter.
The sixth amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of all defendants to legal representation regardless of their ability to pay. State law dictates that defendants in Vermont are assigned a public defender but can be required to pay a fee for the service if they can afford it. The fee is waived if a defendant does not have the financial means to pay.
Read more: www.timesargus.com/article/20160126/NEWS03/160129701
The state has failed to collect more than $2 million in fees over the past three years, Hoffer wrote in a letter to judicial officials, Gov. Peter Shumlin, House Speaker Shap Smith and Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell.
“We found that the state’s processes to collect court-ordered payments are not effective. The state has collected less than a third of the $3.1 million in court-ordered assessments for public defender services due between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2014,” Hoffer wrote in the letter.
The sixth amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of all defendants to legal representation regardless of their ability to pay. State law dictates that defendants in Vermont are assigned a public defender but can be required to pay a fee for the service if they can afford it. The fee is waived if a defendant does not have the financial means to pay.
Read more: www.timesargus.com/article/20160126/NEWS03/160129701