What is the status of indigent defense and court-appointed counsel in Philadelphia?

Unfortunately, the status of conflict counsel for indigent criminal defendants is in a state of total confusion in Philadelphia. There is a misguided proposal for a second public defender’s office, which would be based on a profit model. For technical reasons, this was not approved. It is probably good that it didn’t occur, because the program was grossly underfunded and would have created total chaos because it would have been impossible to have professionally completed its mission. The city of Philadelphia is now talking about new bids for a similar type of system. Meanwhile, the old system—$650 for felony trials and $2,000 for a non-capital homicide trial—still remains in place. These fees are truly inadequate.

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