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Duffy v. Circuit Court For the Seventh Judicial Circuit2/11/2004
lity disorder and severe depression and had been diagnosed with an advanced stage of breast cancer. She attempted suicide and was committed to Human Services Center three times during Duffy's representation. Duffy's affidavit indicated that the State refused to plea bargain the criminal charges. As part of the defense preparation, Duffy claimed that several evidentiary and substantive issues arose which required research, briefing and interviewing of an expert.
. Duffy was appointed to represent the defendant Lucas Wilson in two cases. In the one case, Wilson was charged with felony possession of methamphetamine, ingesting, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia which was assigned to Judge Kern. In the other case, Wilson was charged with Driving While Under the Influence (DUI) and felony Possession of Methamphetamine which was assigned to Judge Tice. Duffy claims that because of the time spent in preparation, she was able to obtain a favorable plea agreement wherein the State dismissed the felony charge and reduced the DUI to reckless driving, thus eliminating the need for a jury trial.
. Duffy submitted itemized bills for each case which included expenses and the time spent on specific tasks billed at the authorized per hour rate. Judge Kern wrote Duffy a letter informing her that she had reduced the billings for the four cases involving clients Little and Wilson. In the letter, the judge indicated that the bills were "too high." The judge acknowledged that the clients were difficult to work with and also recognized the skills and abilities of counsel. The entire content of the letter to Duffy is as follows:
Enclosed please find copies of the front page of your claims filed against Pennington County for provision of services as Court-appointed legal counsel for Ms. Little and Mr. Wilson. I have reduced your bills as indicated. I'm enclosing for your review the Rules of Compensation for Court-appointed Attorneys. If you are dissatisfied with the amount of compensation allowed you may request that all of the Judges in the Circuit review the Claim for Compensation and hold a hearing thereon. A decision by the majority of the Judges shall become the amount of fees and costs authorized.
I realize that both of these clients have been difficult but Mr. Wilson's case did not proceed to trial and fees in the excess of $7,000.00 are simply too high. Similarly, Kathryn Littles' case has not yet proceeded to trial and the bills are in excess of $5,000.00.
I have the greatest personal respect for your abilities and the vigor with which you represent your clients. However, we have a limited budget for Court-appointed attorney's fees and the Court bears the duty and obligation of monitoring the fees expended.
Please do not hesitate to contact me further.
Sincerely, Janine M. Kern
Circuit Court Judge
Judge Kern's explanation did not address the factors to be used in determining whether the fees were reasonable or how those factors entered into her decision to reduce Duffy's fees. It is apparent from the letter that the county's budget for court appointments played some part in her determination to cut the fees. Although understanding the sensitivity to county budgets, the courts have not recognized this as a factor in determining a reasonable attorney fee. The presiding judges have set the hourly fee paid to court appointed counsel below the amount an attorney would charge to private clients. Consequently, the fees paid for court appointments are already discounted by that reduced hourly charge.
. Upon Duffy's request, the judge provided her with a marked-up version of two of her submitt
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