The VLW Blog

The House of Delegates yesterday killed amendments from Gov. Tim Kaine that would have increased the pay of court-appointed lawyers in juvenile court.

Kaine had sought to shoehorn the increase through changes to House Bill 2361, which will permit a judge to waive the fee limits for court-appointed counsel in certain cases. While killing that group of amendments by a 91-6 vote, the House left intact the broader portions of the bill. For the record, all of Kaine’s changes passed the Senate unanimously.

Both Houses approved Kaine’s amendment to the bill that requires court officials to track the number of court appointments, including offenses charged, and the number of fee cap waivers, including dollars paid. The court must report those statistics quarterly to the governor and to the legislature.

Gov. Tim Kaine wants the bill allowing judges to waive the fee caps on court-appointed pay to apply in all of Virginia’s trial-level courts.

Compensation for court-appointed lawyers in Virginia ranks dead last in the nation. House Bill 2361, passed by the 2007 General Assembly, could alleviate that problem, at least partially. The bill would permit a judge to waive the cap on a court-appointed attorney’s fees in an adult felony case in circuit court.

But Kaine has proposed an amendment to HB 2361, adding a fee-cap waiver in juvenile court cases and for misdemeanor cases in general district court. The Assembly will consider the amendment when it returns to Richmond for the April 4 veto session.