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DEL.ICIO.USFleming committee wants Brian Nichols judge to show lawmakers the books
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The House committee conducting a special inquiry of the money being spent for Brian Nichols defense has sent Fulton County trial Judge Hilton Fuller their request for an accounting.
The entire letter, signed by state Reps. Barry Fleming, Jay Shaw and Chuck Martin, can be found here.
Here’s the gist:
“Because you have spoken from the bench as to the need for more public funding for Mr. Nichols’ trial, and because you have already approved close to $2 million in expenses for Mr. Nichols’ defense team, it is incumbent upon us a legislators to ask for your help in understanding what has been spent and why.
“To that end we are requesting that you release to us all orders in which the court has directed the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council to pay the fees and expenses sought by Mr. Nichols’ defense counsel.”
The letter closes with this thought: “We are unable to budget to provide Mr. Nichols and others the reasonable and necessary defense to which they are entitled if we do not know for what we are being asked to pay.”
Comments
By Tiwas
December 16, 2007 10:20 AM | Link to this
I’ve a question and maybe someone may respond. Were the attorneys for Brian Nichols appointed or did they volunteer for the assignment? If they volunteered for the assignment shouldn’t they work at the same cost as a public defender? If they were assigned then they should have the right to charge of their scale?