And that's not all for the ADA-they're also demanding an increase in legal aid fees to fairly compensate the attorneys who offer their services. According to Elrington, they were promised an increase two years ago, but the ADA will no longer accept new legal aid matters under the current fee structure beginning August 1st. Here's what he told us today.
Orson "OJ" Elrington, Secretary, ADA
"The Association of Defense Attorneys, again, I will be very pessimistic and say, do 95% of these matters. Because, again, we're talking about murder trials. All right. And I have seen where there is an issue that I must bring to the attention of the public where, again, us doing this is not an attempt to cripple the judiciary and to cripple the access to justice for those persons who cannot afford it."
"But this again has been a commitment that the administration has made and committed that they would change it, understanding that it was costing our membership to represent people. When you're going to travel all the way to Toledo, hotel, etc."
"And my good brother had mentioned a five, it's $2,000. $2,000. When my good brother can tell you at the private bar, you're looking at a minimum of about $15,000 if you're going at the private bar."
"We had come to a compromise and they said $7,500 so that it is somewhere in the middle to cover your expenses, etc. and something for your time. All right. So our decision is that come the 1st of August, our membership will not take any more court-appointed matters."
"Now, some might say, well, the members of the Bar Association can go ahead and go and do that. But guess what happened? I have seen where persons who have never done an indictable matter before. I'm not talking about murder, much less murder."
"They've never done a murder matter before. And because they are so quick to say, I completed a case, they assign it to somebody. And that poor person is put before a judge. And you know what is the conclusion of that, right?"
"That's not proper justice. That is not proper justice whatsoever. If you're going to put a practitioner who has never done an indictable matter and much less a murder matter, that is like somebody going to take surgery with a general practitioner who has never done surgery before."
Reporter
"So what happened to the compromise of that 7,500"
Orson "OJ" Elrington, Secretary, ADA
"We have not implemented it. They simply have not. They have not. A promise from last year that we have had meeting after meeting after meeting after meeting."
"It was a year before, is it?"
