April 13, 2006

Richmond, VA – All of the living former Virginia Attorneys General, with the exception of two who are constrained by judicial or other office, have submitted a letter to Virginia Budget Conferees today encouraging the General Assembly to strengthen the state's judicial system by reforming the indigent defense program. In a significant display of bipartisanship, the Attorneys General called upon the General Assembly to adequately fund and reform the cap structure for court-appointed representations. The Budget Conferees are considering two separate proposals by the House and Senate that address certain critical deficiencies in Virginia's indigent defense system. The eleven former Attorneys General have written to encourage the General Assembly to take action before the close of the budget session.

The letter reads, in part, "We write to encourage the General Assembly to support efforts to strengthen Virginia's indigent defense system….Despite commitments to improve indigent defense through creation of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission and other efforts, Virginia's mandatory fee caps do not provide a fair opportunity to many indigent defendants to present their case to the trier of fact. The security of all our citizens depends on a fair and error-free legal defense system….As we approach Virginia's 400th Anniversary celebration and the 2008 Presidential election, we encourage the General Assembly to set an example for the nation in its commitment to providing adequate and quality indigent defense."

Signatories of the letter are Jerry W. Kilgore, William G. Broaddus, Richard Cullen, J. Marshall Coleman, Mark L. Earley, Mary Sue Terry, James S. Gilmore, III, Gerald L. Baliles, Stephen D. Rosenthal, Anthony F. Troy, and Andrew P. Miller.

A copy of the letter is available here.
Click here to link to the House budget amendment.

For specific comment on the letter, please contact:

Jerry Kilgore
jkilgore@williamsmullen.com
(804) 783-6933


For more information, please contact:

Amy F. Caputo, Director of Communications
Williams Mullen
(804) 783-6568