BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — An audit of Erie County’s assigned counsel program conducted by the comptroller’s office found major cost increases since 2022 and excessive caseloads among county attorneys which led to high attorney work hours, according to documents obtained by WIVB News 4 on Thursday.
The findings described Erie County’s assigned counsel program as “operationally functional,” but also concluded that there were significant oversights that pose financial, operational and reputational risks.
The audit found that expenditures within the county’s assigned counsel programs more than doubled from $9.1 million in 2022 to $20.3 million in 2024, a 121% increase. The increase was due to a statewide increase in assigned counsel hourly rates to $158 per hour in 2023. Before the increase, Erie County paid court-assigned lawyers $75 per hour for felony and family court matters and $60 per hour for misdemeanor matters…