County Commission ends Litigation tax
The litigation tax in misdemeanor and felony prosecutions has stopped.
Commissioner Phil Yager made the motion and Commissioner Sabra Beauchamp seconded to repeal the $12.50 tax at County Commission’s May meeting.
Beauchamp said the Public Defender’s Office was getting $12.50 for these cases case even if they had a conflict.
“The question to me is should they be getting every bit of that?” she asked. She said the public defender’s office is getting $12.50 even in cases where the defense is using private council.
She cited a recent medical bill for an inmate that could cost a million dollars as being something the county could also use the funds.
“Why should they get all the money when they’re not representing all the cases?” she asked. “We’ve got to collect that money back from somewhere to recoup our funds on that medical bill,” she said regarding the medical bill for an inmate as something on which the county could use the funds.
McKamey asked if the repeal meant the money from the tax would go into another fund. County Commission Chairman Tyler Mayes said it would be cut off and then Commission would need to pass another resolution to get the funds back for the general fund.
Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager said in Anderson County the public defender’s office needs to get at least 75% of what the district attorney’s office receives regardless of the tax’s repeal.
Lawsuit settled in
County’s favor
During the same meeting, Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager gave an update on the lawsuit Gordon W. Gillespie v. Anderson County. Gillespie, an inmate, sued the county regarding medical care at Anderson County Detention Facility. However, the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville declared the lawsuit was declared moot due to an address change.
