(NewsNation) — People charged with a crime in the United States are at least guaranteed a public defender, but that doesn’t mean they won’t have to pay for it, according to a new report.
Most states allow legal jurisdictions to impose fees for a court-appointed attorney, but those costs, and the potential waiver of them, can vary significantly, the Center for Justice Innovation said in the report, “Paying for the Right to Counsel.”
The organization teamed up with the National Legal Aid & Defender Association to analyze two nationwide surveys of public defense attorneys and court officials.
Sixty-five percent of responding attorneys say they don’t support charging defense fees. Professionals said the fees can negatively impact their clients or even perpetuate their ongoing involvement in the legal system.
The report said courts tend to impose a flat defender fee upfront or a variable amount assessed at the close of a case. However, the overall picture is murky because states don’t disclose the defense fees that are assessed and collected.
“These findings underscore the need for additional research to help public defense systems confront how defender fees potentially create misaligned incentives and harm clients,” the authors said.
They added that eliminating fees may create problems for court jurisdictions that rely on them.