Inherit The Windbag: Blago's Public Defender?

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Aug 26, 2010 4:00PM

After emptying the piggy bank with a star-studded defense team for the first go-round, former governor Rod Blagojevich could find himself on the short end of the stick in terms of high profile attorneys come the next trial. Blago's $2.8 million defense fund was completely emptied out by the first trial and The Sam Adam Father-Son combo is pulling out of the retrial which could get a new date at a hearing today. Judge Zagel could also appoint a pair of public defenders to Team Blago. While there's no estimate on how much the attorneys would be paid, the pay for public defenders is $110 per hour with the bill footed by us, the taxpayers. There are limits, though. Per the Sun-Times:

A typical case involving court-appointed lawyers carries a cap of $9,700 per trial, unless the district court judge allows it to be exceeded, according to Carol Brook, Executive Director of the Illinois Federal Defender Program.

“Will it be exceeded? Yes,” said former federal defender Terence F. MacCarthy. “But it won’t be anywhere near $2.8 million.”

Also, Blagojevich would be limited to two lawyers, down from seven.

It's expected that the new trial date would be set for sometime early next year.