Support for COL Increase for Assigned Counsel Attorneys in Criminal and Family Court
SUMMARY
The Council on Children, Criminal Courts Committee, and Family Court and Family Law Committee sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul, NYS Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Assembly Majority Leader Peoples-Stokes to support Assembly Bill A2682, introduced by Assemblyman Magnarelli. This bill seeks to amend County and Judiciary Laws to provide much-needed annual cost of living increases for Assigned Counsel Panel (ACP) attorneys representing indigent New Yorkers in criminal and family court cases. ACP attorneys did not receive an increase in compensation for over twenty years until the 2024-2025 budget finally compensated state-assigned counsel commensurate with the rates paid to Federal Defenders in New York. The proposed legislation would align ACP’s compensation with regular cost of living increases, similar to federal defenders’, ensuring fair compensation for these essential legal services. The bill is critical to maintaining quality legal representation for vulnerable New Yorkers and supporting the continued work of experienced, certified attorneys in these high-stakes cases.
REPORT
By Email
Hon. Kathy Hochul
Governor of the State of New York
New York State Capitol Building
Albany, NY
Hon. Carl Heastie
Speaker
New York State Assembly
Legislative Office Building 932
Albany, NY 12248
Hon. Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes
Majority Leader
New York State Assembly
Legislative Office Building 926
Albany, NY 12248
RE: Support for Cost-Of-Living Increase for Assigned Counsel Attorneys in Criminal and Family Court
Dear Governor Hochul, Speaker Heastie and Majority Leader Peoples-Stokes:
On behalf of the New York City Bar Association, and through its Council on Children, Criminal Courts Committee, and Family Court and Family Law Committee, we are writing to urge you to support Assembly Bill A.2682, introduced on January 22, 2025, by Assemblyman Magnarelli of the 129th District. The legislation calls for an amendment to the County and Judiciary Laws to provide much-needed annual cost of living increases for Assigned Counsel Panel (“ACP”) attorneys assigned pursuant to County Law §18-B and Judiciary Law §35 to represent indigent New Yorkers in criminal prosecutions and family court proceedings. This is an important step towards achieving fair and equitable compensation for assigned legal counsel, which will in turn benefit the thousands of New Yorkers who receive such legal services each year.
In the First and Second Departments alone, approximately 550 attorneys take on 20,000 criminal prosecutions each year, and handle 100,000 summonses in state court. This legislation comes as arrest rates have steadily increased in New York City since 2020. According to the NYC Criminal Justice Agency, prosecuted arrests rose nearly 10 percent in 2024 from the previous year.[1] Representing the indigent in Family Court, there are 147 Family Court ACP members in the First Department, many of whom handle appeals, as well. All ACP members are required to take continuing education courses mandated by the programs and are required to maintain malpractice insurance.
ACP attorneys cover cases in Family Court, Surrogate Court, Supreme Court, and Criminal Court, representing children and adults in complex cases where individuals stand to lose their liberty and family members from their lives. The attorneys representing these clients are certified after an extensive review and approval process and often bring decades of experience to these cases.
Applicants for both the criminal defense and family court panels must have significant experience conducting preliminary hearings, bringing cases to trial, and litigating motions. Additionally, they must provide references not only from judges familiar with their work, as well as from opposing adversaries. Depending on an applicant’s experience, they may need to provide heightened credentials before engaging in the most serious of cases, such as homicide prosecutions.
Nevertheless, ACP attorneys did not receive an increase in compensation for over 20 years until the 2024-2025 budget finally compensated state-assigned counsel commensurate with the rates paid to Federal Defenders in New York. [2] The Federal Defenders receive regular cost of living increases per the U.S. Criminal Justice Act. [3]
Assembly Bill A.2682 continues this march towards equity, directing that hourly compensation for assigned counsel be raised to reflect annual cost of living increases recorded by the U.S. Secretary of Labor, the same wage adjustment mandated by the U.S. Criminal Justice Act for federal assigned counsel.[4] With cost of living increases rising another 2.5 percent this year, it is imperative that the state provide reasonable compensation to ensure quality representation for indigent New Yorkers.
Sincerely,
Cathy Cramer, Chair
Council on Children
Carola Beeney, Co-Chair
Criminal Courts Committee
Anna Cominsky, Co-Chair
Criminal Courts Committee
Michael Weinstein, Co-Chair
Family Court and Family Law Committee
Tuozhi Zhen, Co-Chair
Family Court and Family Law Committee
Footnotes
[1] New York City Criminal Justice Agency, “How many people are arrested and prosecuted in NYC each year?”, available at https://www.nycja.org/people-prosecuted#data (All websites last accessed on March 28, 2025).
[2] “Legislation Required for the Budget | FY 2024 NYS Executive Budget,” available at https://www.budget.ny.gov/pubs/archive/fy24/ex/artvii/summary-artvii-legislation.pdf.
[3] Federal Defenders, “2025 Increases to CJA Hourly Rates,” available at https://www.fd.org/news/2025-increases-cja-hourly-rates; Cornell Law School, 18 U.S. Code § 3006A – Adequate representation of defendants, available at https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/3006A#d_1.
[4] See, 5 U.S. Code § 8146a.