Public defense issues and developments in TennesseeNACDL Advocates for Increase in Tennessee Assigned Counsel Rates
In support of its efforts to pursue fair rates for court appointed counsel, NACDL, along with our Tennessee affiliate, TACDL, filed an extensive public comment urging the Tennessee Supreme Court to amend Rule 13 and raise its assigned counsel rates. At the time Tennessee court appointed attorneys earned $40/hour for out of court work and $50/hour for in court work, rending the rate among the nation’s lowest. While the Court did elect to raise the out of court rate to $50/hour, it declined to make any further changes, leaving the state rate woefully inadequate and ignoring a report commissioned by the Court in the 2017, Liberty & Justice for All: Providing Right to Counsel Services in Tennessee, which called for the rate of compensation to be raised to at least $75/hour and end the state’s use of fee caps, allowing attorneys to be fully compensated for their work.
Nation's Criminal Defense Bar Blasts Tennessee Supreme Court Rate Increase
NACDL-TACDL Comment More on Assigned Counsel Rates
Learn About Interrogation Policies in this State
