Politics
Politics

Settlement expected in public defender suit

By Bill Rankin
Dec 14, 2011

A trial scheduled to begin Thursday involving a lawsuit against the state public defender system has been taken off the court's calendar because a potential settlement has been reached, said plaintiffs' lawyer Gerry Weber of the Southern Center for Human Rights.

The suit was filed in 2009 on behalf of inmates who said they could not challenge their convictions on appeal because the state had not spent enough money to provide lawyers to represent them. A Fulton County judge had previously ordered the state to provide counsel to the indigent inmates.

About the Author

Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.

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