A stark contrast in courts: Coleman-Franken lawyers v. public defenders

From the MinnPost:

Michael Kunkel’s work was done. For the moment.

The young lawyer with the Joe Mauer sideburns was trying to relax. His hearing before the Minnesota Court of Appeals, including rapid-fire, rugged questioning from the three justices, was over.

But his day was not.

Kunkel, 29, was gathering his belongings for a parole hearing in Anoka County 25 miles. He has another 30 or so cases on his desk back at the State Public Defender’s Office at the less-than-glamorous Griggs Midway Building on University Avenue in St. Paul.

Just so happens Kunkel’s venue today was Courtroom 200 of the Minnesota Judicial Center.

It’s directly beneath Courtroom 300, the daily venue for the Norm Coleman-Al Franken recount trial.

…

Coleman’s and Franken’s lawyers are making — what? — an average of $500 an hour? They’re big hitters from Washington, Seattle and the Twin Cities. Sounds like as much as $20,000 a week per lawyer, give or take a grand or two.

…

The state public defender’s office, already reeling from 53 layoffs this year, could be in further danger if state budget cuts whack the justice system. Kunkel, who has been with the PD’s office for three-and-a-half years, could be laid off.

Meanwhile, three state district court judges, supported by their state-paid clerks, sit in Courtroom 300, and a Ramsey County courts clerk administers proceedings that drag on in the Franken-Coleman case.

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