By Mike Donoghue
Vermont News First
A version of this story has appeared in the Caledonian-Record
The federal judiciary has run out of money to pay for defense lawyers assigned to represent criminal defendants in Vermont.
Chief Federal Defender Michael Desautels said in an email to Vermont defense lawyers that he has been told the financial account used to pay them is empty.
Meanwhile, defense lawyers have been asked to keep doing the work with the hope that money will be found so that they can get paid.
The money shortfall impacts only federal criminal cases, not state court cases.
The impact is targeted at Vermont lawyers who are used under the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) to defend clients who Desautels’ office can not represent due to a conflict of interest.
The conflicts can happen for many reasons, most frequently when there are multiple defendants for the same criminal prosecution.
“Available CJA panel attorney funds have been depleted,” according to an email from Elizabeth Brown Luck, Chief of the Defender Services Office at the Administrative Office (AO) for United States Courts.
“Voucher payments will be deferred until additional funding becomes available,” she wrote.
The financial shortage apparently does not impact the full-time Federal Defender’s Office in Vermont.
Attempts to reach Desautels were unsuccessful.
Chief Federal Judge Christina Reiss said Tuesday it is disappointing for the defense bar that puts in significant time defending those accused of serious crimes.
“The people work very hard. The work is important,” Reiss said.
Reiss said she was told it had happened at least one other time and it lasted for about three months.
In the end, those lawyers were paid for their time, Reiss said.
The idea that defense lawyers may or may not get paid does not sit well with some in the defense bar in Vermont.
Burlington defense lawyer Lisa Shelkrot said it also impacts the payment of individuals used by private attorneys in defending cases, including translators, investigators, expert witnesses, and mental health professionals.
She said some of those professionals work for themselves or out of small offices and are dependent on prompt payment by the government.
Shelkrot represents Vermont on a panel of lawyers that come from the 94 court districts that help oversee the CJA on a national level.
St. Johnsbury lawyer David Sleigh has taken on some big federal cases through the years, including one that may turn into a death penalty case in Vermont.
He said two weeks ago, his defense team went to Washington, D.C., to argue a case at the Justice Department on why the death penalty should not be considered for a former Stowe man who is accused of killing two out-of-state drug dealers in the Northeast Kingdom.
Sleigh said considerable work has gone into defending Theodore “Theo” Bland of Burlington, and the fight will continue in the double homicide case.
Sleigh said he does not expect an answer on the death penalty for 2 or 3 months. Meanwhile, Sleigh said he may opt to pass on taking any new federal cases until the financial issues are cleared up.
Bennington lawyer David Silver, who is a former federal defender in Manhattan, said he has taken on federal CJA cases since he became a private lawyer in 1992.
“I do it out of sense of public service,” Silver said.
He said it is not just indigent people, but some clients are in the middle and upper class who can’t afford a defense lawyer for all kinds of federal cases.
Silver said it is frustrating to see Washington, D.C. overspending for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), while defunding the Department of Education and the State Department.
It is a matter of having “proper priorities. I am feeling resentful right now,” Silver said in a phone interview.
“It leaves a sour taste in my mouth,” Silver said.
Luck noted that a federal judge had said, “Securing necessary funds to provide fair and timely compensation to appointed counsel and CJA service providers is of the highest priority for the judiciary, as the work of these individuals is critical to the administration of justice and protecting the rights of the accused in our federal courts.”
She added, “The judiciary will continue to seek every opportunity to obtain additional funding to meet this need.”