From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Fulton County Courthouse rampage suspect Brian Nichols may lose one of his state-funded attorneys if Georgia officials get their way at a hearing Thursday.
Mack Crawford, head of the Public Defender Standards Council, was in court Tuesday trying to persuade the new trial judge to dismiss attorney Jacob Sussman of North Carolina to save money. The council, which pays for the representation of poor and capital defendants, would use existing staff to help the defense team, led by North Carolina legal heavyweight Henderson Hill.
Superior Court Judge Jim Bodiford said he will issue a ruling during a hearing Thursday. At that time, the judge also vowed to set a trial date —- and to stick to it. The case involving the March 11, 2005, shooting deaths of a judge, court reporter, sheriff’s sergeant and federal customs agent has been delayed for three years due to defense complaints that they need more money in addition to the $1.5 million they have received. Nichols has pleaded not guilty.
Crawford insists the council has faced its own budget cuts and is tapped out. And, he has pointed out, Nichols has four lawyers, more than most death penalty defendants, who are allotted two attorneys.
Three of Nichols’ attorneys were making more than the state average of $95 an hour until one of them voluntarily reduced his fee. A fourth attorney is volunteering her time and only requires reimbursement for expenses. Crawford also has argued that the $1.5 million the defense team has spent is more than four times the average cost of a death penalty defense in Georgia. Hill disputes this amount, but doesn’t want to release documents detailing what his team has spent and on what.
“If Mr. Nichols had funds and was independently wealthy and could provide counsel, none of these issues would be litigated in open court,” Hill told the judge. “The world has no need to know about this prior to trial.”
The judge has released documents showing that Nichols’ attorneys spent about $47,000 on hotel expenses from June through December 2007. That doesn’t include meals, gas expenses and attorney fees. The judge was responding to a request by a legislative committee. The committee initially requested the information on defense expenditures due to concerns about the five trial delays.
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