Judges Not Obligated to Adhere to Pay-Voucher Recommendations Made by Assigned Counsel Program

The Fourth Department dismissed an Article 78 petition brought by the Onondaga County Bar Association Assigned Counsel Program (ACP) which sought to vacate the respondents-judges’ approval of pay vouchers submitted by respondent-attorney.  The Fourth Department wrote:

…[T]his proceeding challenges the authority of respondents to approve vouchers that do not comply with the ACP Plan; it does not challenge the amount of the compensation awarded, a matter reviewable only before an administrative judge ….  We reject petitioners’ contention that respondents have a mandatory duty to follow the ACP Plan and that their failure to refuse to pay vouchers not in compliance with the Plan is arbitrary and capricious.  Although ACP personnel may make recommendations to the trial court with respect to the payment of vouchers, the trial courts are not obligated to adhere to those recommendations.  “The ACP Plan does not take away from the courts the ultimate authority to determine assigned counsel’s compensation; it merely provides for a preliminary review and recommendation, which individual trial judges are free to accept or reject”… .  Matter of County of Onondaga and Onondaga County Bar Association Assigned Counsel Program, Inc., 57, 4th Dept 7-19-13