The state and Fulton County are asking the Georgia Supreme Court to decide who should pay some of the costly tab for defending the man accused of killing three people at an Atlanta courthouse.
Fulton County is appealing a trial judge's order to provide more than $100,000 in services to the attorneys defending Brian Nichols. The county says it will pay for courtroom upgrades that benefit the public. But its lawyers argued today that it should not have to fund technical help that serves only the defense. The judge had ordered the county to pay for someone to transcribe more than 300 hours worth of videotaped conversations Nichols had while in prison, and for another person to operate computer equipment during the trial.
Lawyers representing the Georgia Public Defenders Standards Council say those costs are reasonable, ordinary, and crucial to a defense that meets constitutional requirements. Attorney Robert Remar pointed out that Georgia lawmakers underfunded the state public defender system by millions of dollars. If the state cannot provide an adequate defense, he told the court, then the county must fill the gap.
The court gave no hint of how it would rule. Justice Robert Benham did note, however, that if this situation occurred in a rural county with a lower tax base, the county could find itself in bankruptcy.
The Nichols trial has been postponed to September because of a lack of funds. As of January, it already had cost the state more than $1.2 million.
Nichols is accused of killing a Fulton County judge, court reporter, and sheriff’s deputy at the county courthouse in 2005. He is also accused of killing a federal agent while he was running from police.
Fulton County is appealing a trial judge's order to provide more than $100,000 in services to the attorneys defending Brian Nichols. The county says it will pay for courtroom upgrades that benefit the public. But its lawyers argued today that it should not have to fund technical help that serves only the defense. The judge had ordered the county to pay for someone to transcribe more than 300 hours worth of videotaped conversations Nichols had while in prison, and for another person to operate computer equipment during the trial.
Lawyers representing the Georgia Public Defenders Standards Council say those costs are reasonable, ordinary, and crucial to a defense that meets constitutional requirements. Attorney Robert Remar pointed out that Georgia lawmakers underfunded the state public defender system by millions of dollars. If the state cannot provide an adequate defense, he told the court, then the county must fill the gap.
The court gave no hint of how it would rule. Justice Robert Benham did note, however, that if this situation occurred in a rural county with a lower tax base, the county could find itself in bankruptcy.
The Nichols trial has been postponed to September because of a lack of funds. As of January, it already had cost the state more than $1.2 million.
Nichols is accused of killing a Fulton County judge, court reporter, and sheriff’s deputy at the county courthouse in 2005. He is also accused of killing a federal agent while he was running from police.
