Many convicted defendants will qualify for an appointed lawyer for their appeal. This article printed in today's Dayton Daily News points out how low appointed fees are and starts out by asking whether you'd want your loved one represented by a low-paid lawyer.
In my experience, fees for appointed counsel on appeal are even lower than those at the trial level and requests for "extraordinary fees" are granted more frequently at the trial level than on appeal. So do you want your loved one represented by an appointed attorney on appeal? Many families have no choice since they simply cannot afford to hire a private lawyer. But if you can afford to hire a private lawyer for the appeal, you may want to do so.
Montgomery County pays $50.00 per hour up to $1500.00 for appeals from felony convictions. That amounts to just 30 hours of work. I was appointed to this appeal in Montgomery County and I spent 48.9 hours on the case. When I do appeals, I put in as much time as it takes to give my clients the best chance to win. I won the appeal and the defendant's prison term was shortened by 10 years. Since I spent 48.9 hours on the appeal, I made just $30.50 an hour, before taxes and expenses. And Montgomery County pays significantly more for appointed appeals than the other counties within the Second District.
If the lawyer appointed to your appeal has the goal of winning your appeal despite the low fees, then you should probably stick with that lawyer. But how many appointed lawyers can win a felony appeal in just 20 or 30 hours? Or how many appointed lawyers will go beyond those fee limits knowing that their hourly fee is shrinking with each extra hour of effort?
If you want to stick with your appointed lawyer on appeal, then good luck to you. I hope one of the good ones was appointed to your case. But just remember how stifling the appointed fees are for appeals in Ohio. If you can afford a private lawyer, you may want to consider retaining one to give yourself the best chance to win on appeal. Here is a link to my tips for choosing a lawyer for your appeal.
