British Barristers May Strike Over Low Pay
U.S. criminal defense lawyers aren't the only ones demoralized by the low fees paid by the Government to defend the indigent:
Criminal barristers are demoralised over their earnings and could paralyse the criminal justice system by boycotting work on crown court trials listed to last up to two weeks, the government is warned today.
Of more than 1,000 respondents to a survey by the Criminal Bar Association - nearly half the membership - 97% want the association to explore the possibility of direct action, and four in five say they would be prepared to take action themselves.
David Spens QC, chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, said: "The criminal bar is saying enough is enough. We have been taken for granted by successive governments, who have exploited misinformation about the legal aid system to drive down fees to the point at which my members are often being asked to work for free. "For a profession which prosecutes and defends cases in the public interest, the situation is now intolerable."
TChris wrote about the problems in Massachussetts here. We profiled Washington State here, New York here and Louisiana here and here. We wrote here:
Public defenders: Overworked, Understaffed, Undaunted in Virginia. The situation is dismal in Georgia. It's even worse in Lousiana. Reform is needed in Alabama. Friday, a judge in Louisiana appointed lawyers in four cases by looking in the phone book and making random calls. The indigent defense system in this country needs a fix-- for starters, it needs adequate funding.
TalkLeft empathizes with our fellow defenders of liberty across the pond.
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