GA public defenders cut 21 positions

From WGST:

Georgia’s public defender council is laying off 16 attorneys and five staff members to help deal with budget cuts.

The Georgia Public Defender Standards Council told the employees Friday that they would be cut June 30. That means nearly 1,900 defendants who can’t afford legal help will have no lawyer to represent them.

The affected employees were from the Metro Conflict Office, which helps with multidefendant cases. The council spent $9 million but was only allocated $5.4 million from the state this year.

Council director Mack Crawford says the group has been instructed not to go over its budget this year.