The Missouri General Assembly has completed a budget that uses federal stimulus money to forestall cuts made to the state's judiciary system. (pictured is House Budget Chairman Allen Icet, R-Wildwood) As a result, both the judiciary and the state's public defender system will see slight increases to their 2010 operating budgets. Included in that budget bill is $37.3 million for the state's public defender system. The appropriation is slightly higher than what the department got during the current fiscal year.

Tagged with: budget Kevin Engler Missouri General Assembly public defender stimulus

The Missouri House has brought a package of projects back from the legislative graveyard on Monday, a move that resuscitates $2 million aimed at helping the public defender system. The House unexpectedly defeated a bill last Thursday that featured a ...

Tagged with: Allen Icet public defender stimulus

As the state prepares to complete next year's budget, Attorney General Chris Koster's thoughts have also turned to money - both for his lawyers and for the state as a whole. Koster on Thursday said he intends to increase pay for entry-level lawyers in the attorney general's office to $42,500, a 23 percent increase from the current $32,900. Koster said current pay levels are less than those of public defenders and many prosecutor's offices. "Bringing this office into something akin to basic economic parity is my No. 1 priority," Koster said Thursday.

Tagged with: budget Chris Koster Jay Nixon Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association public defender

A legislative package that included projects funded with federal stimulus dollars was defeated on the floor of the Missouri House, a development that puts a $2 million allotment for the public defender system in jeopardy. The Missouri House quickly put ...

Tagged with: Allen Icet budget public defender stimulus

Alarm bells are sounding within the state court system over an early draft of the state budget. The Missouri House gave first-round approval on Wednesday to 13 bills making up the state’s budget, with a final vote expected late Thursday. ...

Tagged with: budget John Burnett Missouri Supreme Court public defender State Court Administrator

It’s only fitting that an appeals court would issue two opinions in a double jeopardy case. The Missouri Court of Appeals in St. Louis handed down its second opinion in State v. Bohlen on Tuesday. “Only the remedy has been ...

Tagged with: Double Jeopardy Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District public defender State v. Bohlen

Missouri’s public defenders are used to arguing to the appellate courts on behalf of clients. On Thursday, they used their powers of persuasion on behalf of the public defender system itself. Attorneys for the Missouri State Public Defender’s Office appeared ...

Tagged with: case limit Missouri Court of Appeals Western District public defender Public Defender Commission Shook Hardy & Bacon

A Jamaican national who more than once entered the United States illegally gets to stay in this country a while longer – in federal prison. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday affirmed the sentence imposed on Barrington ...

Tagged with: 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Barrington H. McKinzie Dean Whipple Henry E. Autrey illegal imigrant public defender U.S. Sentencing Guidelines

The seemingly routine procedure of referring a bill to committee could have a sizable impact on the fate of legislation altering the state’s public defender system. Most notably, Sen. Jack Goodman’s bill codifies an administrative rule allowing the Public Defender ...

Tagged with: bill committee Jack Goodman Jolie Justus leglislation Missouri Court of Appeals Western District public defender Public Defender Commission Ron Richard

Amid concerns that an escalating workload is hindering public defenders’ ability to represent clients, the Missouri Senate took a big step toward sending legislation altering the system to the House. Sen. Jack Goodman’s legislation features a number of components, including ...

Tagged with: caseload Jack Goodman Lathrop & Gage Missouri Senate public defender Public Defender Commission

Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Laura Denvir Stith used the annual State of the Judiciary Address to call for "creative solutions" to assist the state's public defender system. She also called for using "resources more efficiently" in a difficult budget environment. Her comments came a day after Gov. Jay Nixon's proposed budget called for a roughly $1 million increase to the Office of the State Public Defender, including money to hire 12 additional staff members. Public defender officials said it would be the first staff increase to the system in years.

Tagged with: budget Chief Justice Laura Denver Stith Jay Nixon Missouri Supreme Court new hires public defender spending State of the Judiciary Address