TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Amelia Ferrell Knisely on Nov 24, 2015

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that Campbell County General Sessions Court Judge Amanda Sammons is charging people a fee for court-appointed counsel even if they do not use the service. Sammons said that in each incident, the families initially asked for court-appointed counsel before choosing to hire private lawyers. “The AOC fusses at us if we do not collect that fee. In order for the indigent defense [system] to work statewide, that fee must be paid,” Sammons said. But others say that the law establishing the fee as well as court rules provide a mechanism to waive the fee.