Judge: Low pay making court-appointed attorney situation ‘dire’

Judge: Low pay making court-appointed attorney situation ‘dire’

Editor's note: The Tennessee Supreme Court announced Tuesday the state's Administrative Office of the Courts "will make a significant budget request to support increasing the attorney hourly rate to $80" in its budget request for the next fiscal year. It says the state's current rate, unchanged since 1997, is the lowest in the nation at $50 and is actually destabilizing the juvenile and criminal justice systems. JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Two…