Ga. public defender system refuses to cut budget

The Georgia Public Defender Standards Council's board voted 6-1 on Thursday to reject the cuts after a daylong meeting. Attorneys and administrators warned the latest round of cuts could push the teetering system off a cliff and undermine its ability to provide adequate legal defense for Georgia's poor.

"We have a duty to push back, and push back now," said Wyc Orr, a council member who led the charge. "Push back. What could they do to us? They can't fire us ... It's time for us to say 'No, thank you.' We will not cut our budget."

It was unclear whether the vote would have any impact on the system's budget, as Perdue's office said the funds were already being withheld.

"Nobody wants to make cuts," said Bert Brantley, a Perdue spokesman. "But we're in this situation and we've asked agencies to identify areas of reduction."

Georgia's legal system, like most other state agencies, was ordered to propose cuts of at least 6 percent to help meet a $1.6 billion shortfall.

But unlike most departments, the legal system must also meet strict constitutional mandates to protect the rights of defendants and preserve due process.

Most legal agencies have found a way to make the cuts, which must be approved by the governor's budget office, no matter how painful they are.

State prosecutors voted this week to order employees to take an unpaid day off each month starting in September. The Georgia Supreme Court slashed funding for travel and research. And the Council of Superior Court Judges has suspended its use of all senior judges: retired jurists who are paid a per diem to fill in.

"There's no question we're going to work really hard to try to do the people's business," said Stephen Goss, a Dougherty Circuit judge who is the council's president. "But it's definitely going to slow down the courts and cause a backlog in the county jails and a slowdown in civil litigation."