WA: Grant County updates

Here's the latest court-appointed counsel news from the Channeled Scablands:

Dano to represent victim's parents in upcoming murder trial - Appointment unprecedented in county, maybe state:

The mother and father of a special-education student at Ephrata Middle School who was brutally killed more than three years ago will be provided with a publicly-funded defense attorney during what is expected to be a six-week murder trial beginning April 3. Moses Lake-based attorney Garth Dano was appointed to represent Chuck and Lisa Sorger, whose 13-year-old son Craig Sorger was killed in February 2003...

Court upholds public defender payments - Opinion rules drafted attorneys should be paid judges' rates:

Grant County must pay judges' rates to eight central Washington attorneys who were drafted as public defenders during a two and a half month period in 2004...

The case is State of Washington v. Buckley James Perala, (Court of Appeals Div. III, 03/16/2006) (pdf file):

In these consolidated cases, many of the appointed attorneys were asked to defend defendants in a number of cases. One attorney was assigned at least 14 cases. In such circumstances, asking an attorney to defend multiple criminal cases without compensation would be an onerous burden that could unduly impoverish the appointed attorneys and would likely lead to a great reduction in the number of attorneys willing to accept such appointments. The trial court did not err when it determined that appointed counsel did not have an obligation to take on all of Grant County's public defense work pro bono.

(Sure, maybe Greg at Public Defender Stuff has scooped me again, but can he say he's ever spent the night in Ephrata?)