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No blank check: Judge Wagner guards county coffers

2 min read

We’ve long gotten a kick out of the quick wit of Fayette County Judge John F. Wagner Jr., whose tart but tasteful tongue often adds a humorous flair to the monotony of court proceedings and Fayette County Prison Board meetings. So it was that Wagner’s comment last week, concerning a private attorney’s request that the county pay for various experts to assist his homicide-charged client, framed the issue in a way that caused a smile to crease one’s face.

“Unless they changed the name plate on the door, from ‘Wagner’ to ‘Feudale,’ I’m a little reluctant to shoot in the dark here,” said Wagner, who told the attorney he wanted proof of his client’s indigence and a cost estimate before he’d order anything.

The comparison reference was, of course, to Northumberland County Senior Judge Barry F. Feudale, who vacated the 1986 double-murder conviction of David Munchinski on grounds of prosecutorial misconduct, and has retroactively awarded Munchinski’s attorney a whopping $123,232 in legal fees.

The money is due in full by Jan. 31 of next year, with Feudale imposing 6 percent interest on the unpaid balance of $48,232 through that time. The county commissioners recently authorized a $75,000 payment on the bill, but make no mistake: Fayette County taxpayers are picking up this tab. And it could get even bigger if Munchinski’s attorney follows through with, and prevails in, a planned civil suit against the county.

Normally, a person who qualifies gets a court-appointed attorney up front, at which time a judge decides the level of payment. That didn’t happen in the Munchinski case, where Feudale in late 2004 ordered payment to the attorney for work done starting in 2001, when the family hired him privately for $5,000. One concern of the Fayette County commissioners – and it should concern county commissioners across the state – is that Feudale’s order could make it possible for indigent defendants to shop for an attorney up front, with public payment at an unknown level being assessed on the back end.

This backward logic could wreak havoc on the county’s budget-making process. Wagner isn’t so inclined to give out a blank check, even though he no doubt could, and for that taxpayers should be thankful he’s no Feudale.

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