COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio plans to slash its reimbursements to attorneys who represent victims of suspected abuse, a move that advocates think could make it tougher for some victims to obtain protection orders.
Advocates for abuse victims said the impact will be greatest in rural areas where there are only a handful of attorneys who practice family law and are willing to deal with all the paperwork in messy domestic-violence case. "We always help the women, and it is generally women who seek a protection order, but we're not lawyers," said Paula Roller, executive director at Turning Point, a domestic-violence shelter in Marion that serves six counties. "I just don't think the state thought this through." She said people in rural areas must rely on lawyers who are willing to travel.
Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray said the state needs to reduce how much it pays lawyers who work on domestic abuse cases because Ohio's Crime Victims Compensation Fund is running low. The crime victim’s fund, which draws money from federal grants, court costs and other fees, has dwindled to less than $11 million, from $38.6 million in 2001.
The state, starting next month, will cut repayment rates for attorney to $60 an hour for court work and $30 an hour for travel - it had been paying attorneys who work on abuse cases $150 per hour for court and travel time. Ohio also will limit each lawyer to $30,000 in reimbursements per year. "There were a handful of attorneys who were doing very well, and the fees seemed excessive to us," Cordray said.
One attorney was reimbursed $176,119.50 last year. The state paid $1.32 million to lawyers in 2008, and nearly half went to five attorneys or law firms. Mark Poole, an attorney in Licking County who earned $126,000 last year, said he understands why the state changed the hourly rates but does not agree with capping the yearly payouts. "I did what I did for victims of domestic violence, and 98 percent of my clients are abused women without access to money or resources," he said. "All that annual cap will do is drive good attorneys out of the business of helping those women."
For additional information, stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com -- Where Accuracy Matters.
To submit a story idea or news tip, e-mail stories@nbc4i.com.
MORE: NBC 4 Local News | Local Crime News
NBC 4 SPORTS: Sports News, Video
NBC 4 POLITICS: Headlines, Interactives & Video
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement