Time for transparency in public defender system? Kilpatrick's defense may cost 'hundreds of thousands,' but we don't know why he qualified
Public defenders representing former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his father against federal racketeering charges could end up costing taxpayers \"hundreds of thousands of dollars,\" according to Wayne State University Law Professor Peter Henning. But it\'s unclear how or why either men qualify for the system -- beyond affidavits claiming indigence -- meant to guarantee the right to a fair trial for defendants who cannot afford legal representation, raising questions about whether courts should disclose eligibility criteria and final costs. \"The way the system works is you only look at the assets of the individual defendant,\" Henning said Monday on WJR-AM 760. You don\'t necessarily look at the assets of the family, the parents, spouse, whoever. It\'s what the system guarantees.\"
