Lawyers could go unpaid

Lawyers across South Carolina are upset after a state commission suspended payment of legal fees for attorneys who represent clients too poor to pay them.

The State of Columbia reports the Commission on Indigent Defense
made the decision last week because of budget cuts.

Agency Executive Director Patton Adams says it will review the situation in three months.

The legal fees are given to lawyers who do things like represent indigent clients in criminal cases or are appointed to child abuse and neglect cases in Family Court.

Columbia attorney Joe McCulloch says lawyers across the state are angry because they have been essentially asked to represent people for free.

A lawyer who refuses the court appointments could be disciplined by the state Supreme Court.