The Southern Center for Human Rights, an Atlanta-based advocacy group, filed a lawsuit Wednesday in the Fulton County Superior Court trying to prevent the closing of the 21-member Metro Atlanta Conflict Defender Office.
The lawsuit claims that system director Mack Crawford had no plan for the 1,800 people who could be left in the lurch with the office's closing.
Crawford said budget cuts forced him to close down the office, which handles multi-defendant cases.
He said the council only received $5.4 million from state lawmakers for the next fiscal year. That's a drop from the $9 million it spent last year on conflict cases throughout Georgia.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Advocacy group sues Metro Atlanta Conflict Defender Office
