Observing at least a five-year drop in criminal cases in the District of Columbia, D.C. Superior Court officials in May sliced the number of private lawyers approved to serve as court-appointed counsel for low-income defendants by nearly a third.
Some lawyers who previously served on the panel but didn’t make this year’s list expressed concern about a lack of transparency regarding how panel attorneys were picked. They questioned the selection of less experienced lawyers over veterans, especially after being told at the start of the application process that the court valued trial expertise.
