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Opinion editorials Handling of Pit Appeal Calls for a Time-Out |
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opinion editorialsThis editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by editorial page staff and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers
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Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Jackson Attorney Fees Better Spent on Clients
Nearly $5 million paid by the state every year to lawyers in a 23-year-old lawsuit might be better used to lessen proposed cuts in services for clients in the state Developmentally Disability Waiver program that faces $36 million in cuts, including $9 million in state money.
Sen. Rod Adair, R-Roswell, is sponsoring a bill that would stop payments to attorneys or expert witnesses in the ongoing Jackson lawsuit, filed in 1987 in federal court on behalf of residents of state-run facilities in Los Lunas and Fort Stanton. Instead the money would go toward developmentally disabled people waiting for services. The DD Waiver program serves about 4,000 people with 4,700 on a waiting list.
Adair says the lawsuit has served its purpose — closure of the training schools, moving the residents into group homes and improved care.
Under a 1997 settlement, the court still has oversight in some areas. Peter Cubra, lead attorney in the lawsuit, says the case will be over as soon as the violations of federal law have been corrected. He also says the attorneys plan to reduce their fee requests over the next year in light of state budget problems.
While there is some justification for continuing oversight to protect developmentally disabled New Mexicans, it shouldn't be a cottage industry to keep lawyers employed.
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