Judges Want Out of Process

At Monday's briefing our three judges (Judges Sheldon, Meadows and Findlay) informed the commissioners that effective Jan 1, 2011 they will no longer manage the funding and attorneys for the indigent. They each explained that they believe there could be a perceived conflict of interest from attorneys, their clients and the public, as well.

Here's how I understand this process works at this time. When an individual is charged with a crime and cannot afford an attorney to represent him/her, then an attorney is contracted by the county to provide the representation. The judges manage the contract attorneys and the money that funds these attorneys.

Depending on how this process is fixed, it could add another $90K or so to the county's already tight budget. One way to fix the process would be for the county to contract with an attorney to manage the program as offered at the briefing on Monday. However this is fixed these three judges made a strong case that they need to be out of this business.

By the way, we may be hearing more about conflicts of interest and the appearance of fairness doctrine over the next year or so. The League of Women Voters of Mason County have announced a study of all county advisory committees and boards. Stay tuned for more as this study unfolds. I've only been involved with the League now for about two years and I'm absolutely impressed with their non-partisan and research based approach to a topic.