A grievance was filed against the Hinds County Public Defender's office by one of its attorneys. Sources informed JJ the grievance was filed after it became known one of the attorneys, Matt Eichelberger, received the highest salary in the department even though he has less senority than other public defenders (See table below.).
Mr. Eichelberger receives a monthly salary of $7,135, $800 more per month than the next lowest salary. His salary is paid out of the JET (Jackson Enforcement Team) Grant program. The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics issued the grant to Hinds County using funds from a Katrina grant. The grant funds two extra circuit court judges, two prosecutors, a public defender and other staff and is for two years. It should be noted that although the position pays $85,620, it is temporary in nature, as the grant expires next year. The HCPDO will release Mr. Eichelberger unless additional funding can be obtained or a position becomes available through attrition.
Sources have said the head of the department, William Labarre, chose Mr. Eichelberger (who was already on staff and his former employee in Washington County) to fill the position without advertising its availability to the rest of the office. Mr. LaBarre told JJ he would not discuss why he selected Mr. Eichelberger or what criteria was used in making his decision. Mr. Eichelberger worked under him for 16 months. He tried 18 cases, including three where the prosecution sought life sentences.
A review of the payroll information for the Hinds County Public Defender's Office below (obtained through a public records request) reveals that although he is the highest paid attorney, there are eight lawyers with more seniority and six of those were admitted to the bar earlier than was Mr. Eichelberger. One former head of a state public defender agency in another state said there was no standard procedure for selecting the attorney in such situations and that some offices will advertise such an opportunity while other's will not as they use it as a chance to reward friends and allies.
While Mr. Eichelberger is a very capable attorney with a good reputation, Mr. Labarre should have given his other public defenders the opportunity to apply for the job. There is this little thing called "appearance" and it applies in this case. The fault lies not with Mr. Eichelberger (Who after all, is going to turn down a higher salary?), but Mr. LaBarre, who knew better than to risk creating turmoil in his own office when the payroll is a public record. This isn't the Delta where things tend to be swept under the rug but Jackson where public records are a way of life for government officials and the media.
The following information was obtained through a public records request:
Attorney Monthly Salary Hire Date Bar Date
Marjorie Davis $6,335 7-5-00 1-1-79
Greta Harris: $5,993 10-23-01 9-30-97
Alice Stamps $5,426 9-16-02 9-27-90
Virginia Watkins $5,739 2-17-03 9-26-91
Frank McWilliams $5,559 2-1-04 8-1-77
James Powers $5,025 4-12-04 9-24-02
Jacinta Hall $4,496 8-22-06 10-05-05
June Hartwick $4,496 7-01-07 5-03-07
Matt Eichelberger $7,184 11-26-07 10-7-03
Gian Barnett $4,496 2-11-08 10-10-07
Jennie Pitts $4,096 8-11-08 10-10-07
Lesley Priest $4,132 12-08-08 10-5-05
Friday, July 24, 2009
Turmoil in the Hinds County Public Defender's Office?
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21 comments:
My bias is evident, but I will say that "seniority" is only one factor in valuing an attorney (or any professional). Taking nothing away from the other public defenders, Eichelberger is a damn good lawyer with a well-desrved reputation for fearless advocacy.
I haven't disputed any of that.
The main issue is the position wasn't advertised to the rest of the office.
Was he educated out of state, if so, it's just Mississippi's SOS.
Kingfish, the disparity of pay from one city to the next is laughable, but in the same office it just doesn't sound fair, where legal or not.
I think we need Barry and Congress to standardize legal services and attorney compensation nationally. If it is good enough for the health care industry then it sure as hell should be good enough for the legal profession.
how do judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys all get paid out of the same grant? don't grants have quotas to meet? sounds like Matt may have to file objections to his own existence.
I think it is time for a single-payer national legal plan and a phalanx of political appointees to administrate it.
Anonymous 1:24 PM- Please show me a fully licensed doctor who makes that little, and then we can talk. These aren't residents or students, these are real lawyers making like $50K.
What are you saying? That we have to nationalize health care because physicians make too much money?
http://www.salarylist.com/all-real-jobs-salary-at-kings-daughters-hospital.htm
http://www.salarylist.com/all-real-jobs-salary-at-north-benton-county-health-care-inc.htm
So if Labarre knew who was in office and decided to choose Eichelberger for the position anyway, what makes you think that advertising it internally would have made any difference? It probably would only have made the turmoil come sooner when he chose who he planned to anyway.
I think Eicelberger a good choice. However, I agree with KF. It should have been vetted with transparency due to the perceived (and real) disparity in salary. Why put yourself in that position?
maybe he was the best guy for the job. The public defender said "Matt deserves this, and is the most qualified." the public defender could've said, well I should advertise to all possible applicae's, but I know Matt's the right choice. Instead of letting everyone know the job is open, they just decided Matt's the best choice and we'll leave it at that.
Hey Jim:
I wonder if over at Phelps a lawyer can make partner after 2 years if he is just brilliant.
sounds like some black woman in the office must'a got jealous this year.
I think the grievance that Kingfish is talking about is actually an EEOC complaint filed by a black female attorney in the office that has more experience than Eichelberger.
It is interesting that Labarre, who is a white male, chose to give the highest paid position to his former washington county employee Eichelberger, who is also a white male.
My momma once said that some people have 20 yrs experience and others have one yr 20 times. So much for seniority
Why does everyone in this gutterhole of a town turn EVERYTHING into a race issue? I'm talking to African Americans here. What a joke. Leave the guys alone down there so they can take care of business. And by the way kingfish, when are we going to disclose the DA office numbers so everyone can see the major difference here.
Unlike the JFP, I don't cram 10 different topics into one story. As for race, there were white attorneys with more experience so I didn't include the race issue.
Some people complain when they do nothing to distinguish themselves and then don't come to mind when a position opens up. They'd probably be complaining if they got the position and then the grant ran out--"He wouldn't consider me for a full-time position." Or "He moved me to a time-limited position and gave my old full-time position to his friend." Ridiculous.
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