BACKERS URGE BUSH TO SIGN DEFENDERS BILL INTO LAW

Supporters of a bill that could change how judges appoint attorneys for poor
criminal defendants in Texas urged Gov. George W. Bush on Tuesday to sign
the measure into law.

But Harris County judges and many defense lawyers countered that Senate Bill
247 could create an expensive bureaucratic nightmare and actually result in
lower-quality representation for people.

Their comments came after Houston Mayor Pro Tem Jew Don Boney and civil
rights and civic groups conducted a news conference Tuesday outside the
criminal courthouse in support of the bill, sponsored by State Sen. Rodney
Ellis, D-Houston.

"Most judges in Harris County are former prosecutors, and while we're not
saying that former prosecutors can't be fair judges, I'm sure many poor
people would like the opportunity to have somebody other than a former
prosecutor choose who would represent them," Boney said.

SB 247 could shift the power to appoint lawyers from judges to commissioners
courts, who could then set up a public defender's office, contract with
outside agencies or allow judges to keep making appointments.

The bill also proposes a "public list" be established and that lawyers be
appointed in order off that list. If a judge wanted to appoint someone else
he would have to give a written statement listing his reasons.

Scott McClellan, a spokesman for Bush, said the governor was expected back
from a presidential campaign swing late Tuesday. He said Bush is studying SB
247, which he could sign into law or veto.

If Bush does nothing by June 20, it becomes law.

Supporters of the bill included NAACP members, a member of Ellis' staff, a
defense lawyer, a law professor, former Texas Southern University president
and longtime law school dean James Douglas and members of other groups. They
say the bill could start a "dialogue" on how poor people are represented.

Defense attorney David A. Jones, Douglas and Howard Jefferson, president of
the Houston NAACP board, said the bill could affect the disproportionate
number of blacks and Hispanics in prison.

Many in the group contend that appointed attorneys cut deals for poor
defendants more often and don't vigorously defend them so as not to anger
the judges who appoint them.

Neil McCabe, a South Texas College of Law Professor, said Houston and San
Antonio are the only two cities in the top 10 (by population) that do not
use public defenders. He said the current system is "ethically challenged."

He and others noted that the bill moved through the Legislature without
opposition and with support of prosecutors and the Texas Criminal Defense
Lawyers Association.

But, in fact, the TCDLA and many lawmakers who once backed SB 247 have
withdrawn their support.

Among them is State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, who co-sponsored SB 247 with
Ellis. He said Tuesday he no longer backed it because of changes that had
been made to it, but declined further comment.

Kent A. Schaffer, TCDLA president, said his group supported the bill before
it went into a conference committee. But at the time it was just a proposal
to see that poor defendants were able to see lawyers more quickly.

But Ellis, who was out of town Tuesday, amended the bill in committee,
Schaffer said, and that triggered the opposition.

"I think the legislation is attempting to fix a problem that doesn't exist,"
said Schaffer, who has asked Bush to veto the bill.

Local judges agree, saying the system runs smoothly, saves taxpayers' money
and provides quality defense for the poor.

"The taxpayers' cost is the same as it was 12 years ago and the quality of
lawyers is extremely high," said state District Judge Ted Poe. "We have
found that judges are using fewer lawyers because we want better lawyers.
This is a bill to promote more work for lawyers. It's not a bill that will
promote better representation for indigent defendants. We don't exist to
feed lawyers out of law school."

And state District Judge George Godwin, the county's administrative judge
for criminal courts, scoffed at the allegations of political patronage and
favoritism. He said judges, as a practical matter, want poor defendants to
have the best lawyers possible, so cases are not overturned on appeal.

Many lawyers who take appointments harshly criticized the bill, dismissed
the racial implications made by its supporters and say that other members of
the defense bar who support it are just angry because judges don't throw
them enough work.

Two who take many such appointments -- Floyd Freed and Rachel Capote -- said
public defenders would create another bureaucratic step for defendants and
said it was unlikely that seasoned lawyers would work in such an office.

Freed said the "public list" would create a situation where judges couldn't
match the best attorney to a certain case.

Capote said: "Are they (the poor) going to get better representation with
any other system? The answer is no."

As for moving appointment power to commissioners, several lawyers and judges
said that would do nothing but make any kind of favoritism worse and also
put justice in the hands of people who know nothing about the legal system.