SAFFORD — With the start of the new fiscal year just a week away, the Graham County Board of Supervisors approved Monday 15 different contracts with attorneys for both prosecutorial and defense services in Graham County Superior Court.
“I just want to thank (you for) the support that we feel we have from the board,” said Graham County Attorney L. Scott Bennett. “We are prosecuting a record number of cases, and we feel very supported and appreciated.”
Bennett sought approval to contract with four different attorneys to assist with prosecutorial services when the county’s attorneys caseload it too heavy. Matt Clifford has two contracts so he may handle both misdemeanors and felonies, attorney Jeremy Waite has a short-term contract allowing him to finish the cases in his private practice before he joins the County Attorney’s Office full time, and Allen Perkins is also short-term to keep in place while Bennett seeks a new deputy county attorney following Perkins’ retirement.
Clifford will be paid $4,000 a month for prosecuting misdemeanors and $150 an hour for felony cases. Perkins will receive $10,000 and Waite $4,166 a month until October. The contract for attorney Daniel Taylor calls for payment of $5,000 per month.
Court Administrator Mindy Young asked the board to approve 10 contracts for eight attorneys to provide defense for those who cannot afford to hire an attorney.
Rebecca Johnson and Josie Lopez will handle both adult and juvenile cases, while E.M. Hale and Ramai Alvarez will handle appeals cases, and the firm of Katsarelis Law will handle cases where all other attorneys have a conflict. Other attorney contracted for public defender services include Raymond Geiser, Dennis McCarthy and Daisy Flores.
Contract amounts were not included in the board’s agenda packet, but Young said most contracts remained the same as the current fiscal year, which has a budget of $608,204 for indigent defense.
