The Senate voted 32-21 Thursday to strip the public defender council of its authority, giving politicians more power over the beleaguered system. It comes a year after lawmakers transferred control of the system from the judiciary to the executive branch.
The moves are partly a response to the eye-popping costs of the trial of courthouse gunman Brian Nichols, whose state-funded defense topped $2 million and spared him from the death penalty. But it's also a backlash against the council's threats to sue the state for more funds.
"Sometimes we gotta say, just like we do to our children, you've gone too far in your powers. We're taking away the keys," said state Sen. John Wiles, who co-sponsored the bill. "We gave the people the power, and they've abused it. That's why it's time to take it away."
The 15-member council now plays a key role in setting policy and making financial decisions for the public defender system. Its members are appointed by judicial leaders as well as politicians.
The proposal, which now goes to the House, would transform the council into an "advisory" panel that would be appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and House Speaker. Under the proposal, the key decisions would rest with executive director Mack Crawford, a former state legislator.
The measure's Democratic critics say it infuses partisan decisions into what should be a judicial function. And they worry it could ultimately lower the standards of the indigent defense system - and leave the state vulnerable to lawsuits.
"If I was standing with my life hanging in the balance, I want the most extensive defense I can get," said Senate Minority Leader Robert Brown, D-Macon. "And that's no matter whether I'm rich, middle class or poor."
The public defender program was already targeted with budget cuts before Nichols was found guilty of murdering a judge, a deputy, a court reporter and a federal agent in a 2005 shooting spree that started in the Fulton County Courthouse.
But lawmakers, including those who had backed the creation of the system in 2003, said the Nichols case pushed them over the line. And many pin the blame directly on the public defender council.
"I have never in my life been as frustrated with a group of people," said state Sen. Seth Harp, a Midland Republican who helped sponsor the indigent defense program six years ago.
"They are the most irresponsible group of people I have ever seen and they're doing harm to the public. They are a bane on the people of Georgia."
As the economy worsened and Georgia officials looked to close a budget gap that now tops $2.6 billion, they asked state agencies - the public defender system included - to shed 10 percent from the budgets.
To some members of the council, the request was unreasonable. They argued that the system, which is funded by legal fees and not taxes, should be exempt from the cuts. And they threatened legal action to preserve more funding.
Critics of the proposal, mostly urban Democrats, urged the measure's GOP backers to look beyond the Nichols case, and to see beyond their anger with some of the members of the council.
"This Brian Nichols fellow, who already has hurt so many people, is being used as a poster child to hurt even more people," said state Sen. Kasim Reed, an Atlanta Democrat.
But others, including state Sen. Preston Smith, told lawmakers they've been "hoodwinked" long enough into supporting the system. He argued that Nichols received an "O.J. Simpson-type defense" on the taxpayer's dime.
"You would have a better defense claiming to be indigent than you would paying for your own defense," said Smith, R-Rome, the bill's sponsor. "And that's not what the Constitution requires."
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On the Net:
Senate Bill 42: http://www.legis.ga.gov
Georgia State Capitol
http://accesswdun.com/article/2009/2/217625