POUGHKEEPSIE – Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro is urging Governor Andrew Cuomo to sign legislation that would have the state pick up the tab for public defense fees for indigent defendants.
Five counties won that right in a lawsuit and Molinaro said it should be the case statewide.
“Our position is that all 62 counties in the State of New York and our citizens should enjoy the same constitutional protection that the governor applauded, was extended to them in that lawsuit,” the Dutchess exec said. “So, it would seem logical that the governor supports this kind of legislation.”
Senators and assembly members crossed party lines last summer to vote on eliminating the mandate that counties pay for those legal services.
