TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Dec 1, 2023

WSMV Investigates yesterday published a piece highlighting one family’s experience with Tennessee’s current system of court-appointed representation in the juvenile and criminal courts. A shortage of court-appointed attorneys representing the indigent in Tennessee has led to people languishing in jail despite having not been convicted of a crime, the news outlet reports. Part of that shortage is due to the low reimbursement rate for these court-appointed attorneys. Tennessee's rate is the lowest in the country at $50 per hour and has not changed in more than 25 years. The Administrative Office of the Courts announced in October that it would ask the state legislature to increase compensation for court-appointed attorneys in the juvenile and criminal courts.