New York Bar Association Sues State Over Assigned Counsel Pay

The New York State Bar Association says the state has violated the constitutional right of children and indigent adults to legal representation by failing to increase compensation for assigned counsel.

The association sought declaratory and injunctive relief in its lawsuit, claiming that, for more than 18 years, the state hasn’t increased assigned counsel compensation in family and criminal court cases outside of New York City proper. Previous cases have led to increases in hourly rates within New York City, but the last increase in the outer counties was in 2004, the complaint says.

“During the eighteen years that assigned counsel ...