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Do IT this week: Layering
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 09:08 p.m. EDT, Jun 03, 2009
Fees paid to attorneys and expert witnesses for indigent Summit County defendants have exceeded the court system's budget by $249,000 already this year.
And the deficit is likely to grow larger with the pending sentencing of the man who killed Twinsburg police officer Joshua Miktarian, court officials said.
In a hearing Wednesday before Common Pleas Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer, prosecutors and defense lawyers for Ashford L. Thompson agreed to a tentative court date for determining fees for his two expert witnesses — a clinical psychologist and mitigation lawyer, both from Cleveland.
Thompson's attorneys, Eddie Sipplen and Annette L. Powers, of Akron, are prohibited by the judge from commenting on the case outside of court, but in records filed in the case last month, they informed Stormer that the fees are likely to exceed the total of $15,000 requested by Thompson's previous defense team.
Thompson, 24, pleaded guilty April 13 to two counts of aggravated murder with death-penalty specifications in the shooting of Miktarian last summer.
The sentencing phase of his trial, at which a three-judge panel will actually decide whether the death penalty is imposed, was scheduled to begin May 26. But it was postponed for several months when the issue over the fees first arose.
According to court records, the fees for the Cleveland clinical psychologist, Dr. John M. Fabian, already have reached $13,000. He has ''declined to do any further work or to submit his report unless he will be paid the full amount of his bill,'' the records state.
The bill for Cleveland defense lawyer Susan J. Morgan, a mitigation expert in death-penalty cases, is presently about $5,000, the records show.
No fees for either expert have been paid by the court thus far, and that is the purpose for the next hearing, which is still months away, Stormer said.
Thompson's lawyers and Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Brian LoPrinzi, the government's lead counsel in the case, set tentative dates for the third or fourth week in September or the third week in October.
It was the only issue discussed at Wednesday's hearing, and no arguments by either side were placed on the record in open court.
Under Ohio law, the judges can sentence Thompson to death if they determine that the aggravating factors of his crimes outweigh any mitigating factors presented on his behalf by the defense.
A date for the so-called penalty phase of the trial also has not been scheduled, but it will be once the issue over the expert fees has been settled.
According to court records filed in Thompson's plea, he shot Miktarian five or six times in the early hours of July 13 after the officer stopped his vehicle under suspicion of loud music.
Miktarian was shot four times in the head, the records show.
The fees for expert witnesses do not pertain to the fees for Thompson's attorneys, Sipplen and Powers. They were hired for his defense by his family, Stormer said.
After Wednesday's hearing, however, Stormer and court executive Andrew J. Bauer released figures documenting the budget problem caused by court expenses for indigent defendants.
Fees for the expert witnesses in three death-penalty cases resolved this year alone have exceeded $39,000, and that figure will climb once the fees for Thompson's experts are paid.
Courts across the land, under a 1985 U.S. Supreme Court ruling authored by the late Justice Thurgood Marshall, are required to pay ''reasonable and necessary expert fees . . . to satisfy the requirements of due process,'' according to a May 21 motion filed by Thompson's lawyers.
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, also deceased, wrote the concurring opinion in that 8-1 high court ruling.
Stormer, the court's administrative judge, addressed the Summit County Council on May 18, telling council members that the fees for death-penalty cases and other expenses, such as courtroom interpreters, have exceeded the budget by tens of thousands in the first quarter this year.
Bauer then released records showing all of the court's month-by-month fees for attorneys and expert witnesses. Those figures show:
• The 2009 budget for those fees in the entire general division of Common Pleas Court is $2.3 million.
• A total of nearly $1.2 million already has been spent.
• The shortfall has already reached more than $249,000.
''We're doing everything we can to stay within our budget,'' Stormer said after Wednesday's hearing.
Among the measures already taken to reduce expenses, Stormer said, were several voluntary employee buyouts; changes in vacation payouts; cutbacks in postage by sending criminal decisions through e-mail; and even increased security measures for the court's office-supplies system.
If the budget deficit is not made up, Stormer said employee layoffs and elimination of some court programs will be considered.
Brad Gessner, head of the criminal division of the county prosecutor's office, said determining the expenses for indigent defendants is strictly the responsibility of each of the court's 10 Common Pleas judges.
''We are not going to put a price tag on justice for either a victim's family or the safety of the community,'' Gessner said. ''When it comes to the fees paid to attorneys, that's the court's decision. We are not any party to that.''
There are set fees for such expenses, and court guidelines also are in place for extraordinary expenses.
''Again, we have no say in that,'' Gessner said.
The County Council, he said, has passed a resolution capping the fees for the two defense lawyers mandated by state law in death-penalty cases at $35,000 for both.
Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
Fees paid to attorneys and expert witnesses for indigent Summit County defendants have exceeded the court system's budget by $249,000 already this year.
And the deficit is likely to grow larger with the pending sentencing of the man who killed Twinsburg police officer Joshua Miktarian, court officials said.
In a hearing Wednesday before Common Pleas Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer, prosecutors and defense lawyers for Ashford L. Thompson agreed to a tentative court date for determining fees for his two expert witnesses — a clinical psychologist and mitigation lawyer, both from Cleveland.
Thompson's attorneys, Eddie Sipplen and Annette L. Powers, of Akron, are prohibited by the judge from commenting on the case outside of court, but in records filed in the case last month, they informed Stormer that the fees are likely to exceed the total of $15,000 requested by Thompson's previous defense team.
Thompson, 24, pleaded guilty April 13 to two counts of aggravated murder with death-penalty specifications in the shooting of Miktarian last summer.
The sentencing phase of his trial, at which a three-judge panel will actually decide whether the death penalty is imposed, was scheduled to begin May 26. But it was postponed for several months when the issue over the fees first arose.
According to court records, the fees for the Cleveland clinical psychologist, Dr. John M. Fabian, already have reached $13,000. He has ''declined to do any further work or to submit his report unless he will be paid the full amount of his bill,'' the records state.
The bill for Cleveland defense lawyer Susan J. Morgan, a mitigation expert in death-penalty cases, is presently about $5,000, the records show.
No fees for either expert have been paid by the court thus far, and that is the purpose for the next hearing, which is still months away, Stormer said.
Thompson's lawyers and Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Brian LoPrinzi, the government's lead counsel in the case, set tentative dates for the third or fourth week in September or the third week in October.
It was the only issue discussed at Wednesday's hearing, and no arguments by either side were placed on the record in open court.
Under Ohio law, the judges can sentence Thompson to death if they determine that the aggravating factors of his crimes outweigh any mitigating factors presented on his behalf by the defense.
A date for the so-called penalty phase of the trial also has not been scheduled, but it will be once the issue over the expert fees has been settled.
According to court records filed in Thompson's plea, he shot Miktarian five or six times in the early hours of July 13 after the officer stopped his vehicle under suspicion of loud music.
Miktarian was shot four times in the head, the records show.
The fees for expert witnesses do not pertain to the fees for Thompson's attorneys, Sipplen and Powers. They were hired for his defense by his family, Stormer said.
After Wednesday's hearing, however, Stormer and court executive Andrew J. Bauer released figures documenting the budget problem caused by court expenses for indigent defendants.
Fees for the expert witnesses in three death-penalty cases resolved this year alone have exceeded $39,000, and that figure will climb once the fees for Thompson's experts are paid.
Courts across the land, under a 1985 U.S. Supreme Court ruling authored by the late Justice Thurgood Marshall, are required to pay ''reasonable and necessary expert fees . . . to satisfy the requirements of due process,'' according to a May 21 motion filed by Thompson's lawyers.
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, also deceased, wrote the concurring opinion in that 8-1 high court ruling.
Stormer, the court's administrative judge, addressed the Summit County Council on May 18, telling council members that the fees for death-penalty cases and other expenses, such as courtroom interpreters, have exceeded the budget by tens of thousands in the first quarter this year.
Bauer then released records showing all of the court's month-by-month fees for attorneys and expert witnesses. Those figures show:
• The 2009 budget for those fees in the entire general division of Common Pleas Court is $2.3 million.
• A total of nearly $1.2 million already has been spent.
• The shortfall has already reached more than $249,000.
''We're doing everything we can to stay within our budget,'' Stormer said after Wednesday's hearing.
Among the measures already taken to reduce expenses, Stormer said, were several voluntary employee buyouts; changes in vacation payouts; cutbacks in postage by sending criminal decisions through e-mail; and even increased security measures for the court's office-supplies system.
If the budget deficit is not made up, Stormer said employee layoffs and elimination of some court programs will be considered.
Brad Gessner, head of the criminal division of the county prosecutor's office, said determining the expenses for indigent defendants is strictly the responsibility of each of the court's 10 Common Pleas judges.
''We are not going to put a price tag on justice for either a victim's family or the safety of the community,'' Gessner said. ''When it comes to the fees paid to attorneys, that's the court's decision. We are not any party to that.''
There are set fees for such expenses, and court guidelines also are in place for extraordinary expenses.
''Again, we have no say in that,'' Gessner said.
The County Council, he said, has passed a resolution capping the fees for the two defense lawyers mandated by state law in death-penalty cases at $35,000 for both.
Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
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hazzard, nc
Posted 09:35 PM, 06/03/2009
everybody is entitled to a fair trial, he shot a cop in cold blood/ pleaded guilty/ spending all that money to determine if he is elgible to recieve the death penalty is ridiculous, the county might be laying people off, spending money on this idiot, why???
AKRON, OH
Posted 10:21 PM, 06/03/2009
THE CRIMINALS DO DAMAGE TO SOCIETY BY WAY OF THEIR CRIMES - THEN DO FURTHER DAMAGE BY WAY OF THEIR LEGAL EXPENSES. WHERE IS OUR JUSTICE IN ALL THIS ?
anytown, oh
Posted 10:31 PM, 06/03/2009
Is this being accurately reported? If the total budget is in deficit by 249,000, how is it that this entire amount can be attributable soley to indigent defense?
akron, oh
Posted 11:23 PM, 06/03/2009
UH OH they may be cooking up another levy,or increase the ticket and camera clicks.
Posted 01:49 AM, 06/04/2009
@ Justanobserver.
Inmates being released early, specialist not being paid, no funds for public defenders, and a rise in the crime rates.
Sounds like our capitalist justice system is about to implode.
If you want justice. You have to die for it.
akron, oh
Posted 02:27 AM, 06/04/2009
@empowermentone1
Just FYI, maybe a levy but, the Common Pleas court only hears Felony cases. Therefore, speeding tickets and other traffic tickets are not seen in this court. Those violations are handled by either Barberton, Stow, or Akron Muni Courts.
Hooterville, Oh
Posted 07:55 AM, 06/04/2009
It's the Judge that say what fees should be paid. They are elected by us. Pay the defense lawyers less. It's that simple. I would say that would be "reasonable and necessary"
cuyahoga falls, oh
Posted 08:03 AM, 06/04/2009
Don't write off anymore court costs and this wouldn't be a problem. All the judges do this way too many times.
uniontown, oh
Posted 08:12 AM, 06/04/2009
The courts have hat in hand and are setting the table for some of that free money the feds are tossing around at the taxpayer's expence.
And hey! Why not...all the cities and states are lining up to get theirs.
Posted 08:20 AM, 06/04/2009
Grumpy has a good scenario without saying that I agree with him entirely.
Actually, I smell corruption.
Akron, Oh
Posted 08:20 AM, 06/04/2009
How did he get out? Isn't that the guy who flashed the girl at KSU?
Akron, OH
Posted 08:22 AM, 06/04/2009
How does the court determine what "expert" to hire? Couldn't they find a cheaper expert? The psychologist alone made $13,000 off this case in about 1 year. That seems like a lot!
BTW...these aren't sarcastic questions. I understand the accused has the right to counsel, but can we find counsel that costs a little less?
Akron, OH
Posted 08:40 AM, 06/04/2009
ZippyEm,
I was thinking the exact same thing about the "experts." When the gub'ment is paying the tab, people tend to ask for more.
akron, oh
Posted 09:15 AM, 06/04/2009
well i could save them the money they are going to spend on him....he shot a police officer 5-6 times, 4 of those to the head... no midigating circumstances would excuse that. Sentence him to die and be done with this piece of trash!
akron, oh
Posted 09:20 AM, 06/04/2009
He pled guilty. What is left to do but cook him?
akron, oh
Posted 09:21 AM, 06/04/2009
Why don't they just let this guy loose and shoot him while "escaping"?
Asheville (raised in Akron), NC
Posted 09:24 AM, 06/04/2009
How come no one is condemning the cost of the judge and prosecutor? The prosecution has unlimited funds. They can try people over and over forever if there is a hung jury or miss trial. You guys are always quick to condemn the evil defense lawyers. There is no such thing as a fair trial when an defendant has no money. Not everyone arrested is guilty. And before the morons start yelling, I am not talking about this case specifically.
Posted 09:32 AM, 06/04/2009
HOW ABOUT A 22 CENT BULLET. CAN THEY AFFORD THAT?
Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Posted 10:08 AM, 06/04/2009
The problem with the "just shoot him" thing is that on a long enough timeline, you're going to off a defendant that was innocent. And there's no dismissing it as "acceptable losses" at that point; the state would be guilty of murder. Since we can't reanimate dead people, wherever capital crimes are concerned there is a valid interest in the appeals process.
My guess is, there will be an inordinate amount of speed enforcement this summer on area roads...
Akron, Oh
Posted 10:59 AM, 06/04/2009
Sketge -- The prosecutor's office does not have unlimited funds. Like every other county agency, their budget is set by County Council.
The real question is why does Summit County not have a Public Defender's Office (like the Feds and every other major county in Ohio)?
Canton, oh
Posted 11:04 AM, 06/04/2009
Well color me amused. I guess it's past time to ask those expensive politicians to take a big pay cut for the common good rather than fire underlings.
No matter how much cash you throw at these political zeros, they always find a way to blow through it in record time. No wonder our nation is coming apart at the seams.
Snydertown, OH
Posted 11:15 AM, 06/04/2009
Why can't he get a court appointed attorney?? Does that save any cash?? I like the 22 bullet plan too.
If you kill a cop, get caught red handed and plead guilty, then why does it have to cost sooo much??? Just like everyone is tightening their belts, I think this attorney should have to also.
Sunshine, WA
Posted 11:58 AM, 06/04/2009
I am completely shocked! Basically folks, we pay for the crime, we pay for their food, housing and clothing, we pay for their defense. It is all coming out of our pockets! Gotta love America...home of the free...free to criminals!
Tallmadge, OHIO
Posted 12:28 PM, 06/04/2009
@Fat Ponhco the Painter said:"The courts have hat in hand and are setting the table for some of that free money the feds are tossing around at the taxpayer's expence."
Another UFO sighting!! Or is this one a Yeti???
Posted 01:31 PM, 06/04/2009
I understand the "right to an attorney if you cannot afford one" stuff, but two attornies, expert witnesses etc. where does it end? And what appeals and all that, is the state/county (we the people) paying for his defense then too?
It all seems like a big waste of money on a POS that has plead guilty.
Tallmadge, OHIO
Posted 01:45 PM, 06/04/2009
@Steve: This is all leading up to snuff another human's life, POS or not.
I'm all for the extra due diligence.
If we'd outgrow the avenger mentality, this wouldn't be necessary. Rotting in jail the rest of your life is solid retribution for any crime committed.
