Official wants stricter death penalty fund limits

By Jim Suhr

Associated Press

Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL
Wednesday, October 1, 2008

ST. LOUIS - Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias called for stricter oversight of a state fund that helps pay expenses for lawyers and investigators in death-penalty cases, saying some have regarded the fund as a "blank check."

Giannoulias also wants to limit how much can be paid from the Capital Litigation Trust Fund for such expenses as food, travel and hotels.

His announcement this week was in response to a story published Sunday in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch detailing questionable charges to the fund, which has an annual budget of about $10 million.

The newspaper said it found that some people working on death-penalty cases in Illinois have charged the fund as much as $300 an hour for driving to the jurisdiction of a trial. In one instance, a Texas psychologist billed the state $270 an hour, beginning with the 80 minutes it took to pack for his flight, the Post-Dispatch found.

The newspaper also said the fund was sometimes billed $300 a night for hotel rooms.

The fund -- which no single state agency oversees -- has disbursed more than $40 million since it was established almost nine years ago, Giannoulias said. Trial judges are responsible for reviewing and approving expenses, and there are no regulations limiting how much can be spent for each trial.

Although Giannoulias' office administers the fund, it has no authority to deny payments once they're approved by the courts, he said.

"Litigators and investigators should not get a blank check from taxpayers when it comes to trying these cases," Giannoulias said, adding that he plans to convene a group of lawmakers and professionals to discuss new legislation, including guidelines for the fund. "We need to standardize the charges and limit excessive and inappropriate costs so that the state and taxpayers aren't robbed in the pursuit of justice."

No one has been put to death in Illinois since 2000 when then-Gov. George Ryan imposed a moratorium on executions, citing more than a dozen cases in which people were improperly sentenced to death. Gov. Rod Blagojevich plans to continue the ban until it's clear reforms put in place are working.

Illinois lawmakers created the Capital Litigation Trust Fund to ensure that death-penalty defendants had access to competent counsel and could mount a credible defense regardless of their ability to pay. The fund also provides money for prosecutors to help defray the costs of such cases.

Giannoulias wants to create a five-person panel of judges and lawyers to review expenses deemed initially excessive or improper, ultimately holding those billing the fund to the same reimbursement standards as state workers.

Under Giannoulias' plan, meals would be capped at $28 per day and mileage at 50 cents per mile, while reimbursement for hotel rooms would be $60 to $140, depending on the location. Only standard coach airfare would be eligible for reimbursement.

Exceptions would be considered if requested, Giannoulias said, and the rates would be reset each January when the hourly reimbursement for court-appointed defense attorneys is adjusted according to the Consumer Price Index.

Randy Rosenbaum, Champaign County public defender and a former Illinois Public Defender Association president, said setting limits on mileage and hotel expenses could be acceptable. But he worries that second-guessing hourly fees by defense-hired experts and investigators might discourage their participation, possibly hurting a defendant's case.

"The way it's set up, trial judges are the gatekeepers. I don't think anyone wants some (outsiders) telling them they can't do something," he said. "Limits on travel, hotels and food could be reasonably done. But setting caps or limits on essential evidentiary stuff, like experts? I'd be very hesitant to sign off on that."

Giannoulias said the proposals will be introduced to the Illinois General Assembly in January and, if approved, would not take effect until fiscal year 2010. Giannoulias expects to ask Illinois judges to put the caps in place voluntarily in November.

Messages left Tuesday with the Illinois Attorney General's Office and the Illinois Prosecutors Bar Association were not immediately returned.