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MN Supreme Court To Hear Public Defender Dispute

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Oct 30, 2009 7:02 am US/Central

MN Supreme Court To Hear Public Defender Dispute

ST. PAUL (AP) ― The issue of whether Minnesota counties must pay for attorneys for poor parents in child-protection cases will be decided by the state Supreme Court.
  
The court says it will review similar cases from Rice and Crow Wing counties. Arguments in both cases will be heard in January.
  
In the Rice County case, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled last month that the counties must pay.
  
A Rice County judge had ordered the county to pay a private, court-appointed attorney to represent a teenager whose newborn was taken away by the county. But county commissioners refused and appealed to the Court of Appeals.
  
The Rice County Attorney contends the judge should have appointed a public defender, whose costs would have been paid by the state judiciary.
  
Information from: Star Tribune

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