Supreme Court chief justice pleads for defense reform, drug courts

ATLANTA - Georgia&#39;s top judge is asking lawmakers to start moving on indigent defense reform even though money is tight. <br> <br> In his annual address to the Legislature Friday, Supreme Court Chief Justice Norman S. Fletcher said the state must overhaul its system of providing legal counsel for poor people accused of crimes. <br> <br> In December, a court-appointed panel reported that Georgia&#39;s indigent defense system is grossly unfair because each county decides how to provide legal counsel. <br> <br> The state contributes less than 20 percent of the $50 million needed to pay for lawyers of poor defendants. Nearly 80 percent of criminal defendants in Georgia are too poor to hire a lawyer. <br> <br> Fletcher is also asking lawmakers to consider adding drug courts across the state. He says a handful of pilot drug courts have done well tackling low-level drug offenders with speedy trials and an immediate drug-treatment program.