State v. Wigley (Louisiana Supreme Court, 1993)
State v. Wigley, 624 So.2d 425 (La. 1993): The Louisiana Supreme Court Requires Attorney Compensation
Until the 1993 Louisiana Supreme Court decision in State v. Wigley, private attorneys appointed to defend indigent defendants accused of capital crimes were not compensated for their work. Instead of receiving payment to defend their clients, attorneys representing the poor were forced to pay their own money to mount an adequate defense. This system left the poor without quality representation because private attorneys simply could not afford to spend the time and resources necessary for a vigorous defense.
The systematic failure to pay court-appointed attorneys for their time representing the poor came to an end when attorneys Alcide L. Gray, Anna R. Gray, Mark A. Delphin and David F. Dwight petitioned the court for payment for their defense of Pennie Wigley and Robert Earle Higginbotham. After being appointed by the court to defend capital murder charges, these private attorneys were told that they would not be paid for their services or out of pocket expenses despite spending over 100 hours each on representing their clients. The attorneys believed that without compensating attorneys appointed to represent the poor, the indigent defense system in Louisiana could not work.
The Supreme Court agreed with the attorneys, stating that "[t]o require that attorneys represent indigents with no recompense while bearing the expenses of the representation, when the attorneys must maintain their own practices and continue to meet their professional and financial obligations in today's changed legal marketplace, is so onerous that it constitutes an abusive extension of their professional obligations.'" State v. Clifton, 172 So.2d 657 (La. 1965). While the court recognized that Louisiana faces tough monetary constraints, it determined "budget exigencies cannot serve as an excuse for the oppressive and abusive extension of attorneys' professional responsibilities." The Court's decision in State v. Wigley stands as a proclamation that the poor deserve high quality legal representation with attorneys who are appropriately compensated for their work.
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