PORT TOWNSEND — A new agreement between Jefferson County and the Jefferson Associated Council for indigent defense will boost spending to defend in the county’s biggest criminal trial of the year.
The agreement, which will run through 2010, pays $405,193 to contracted public defenders plus an additional $7,717 per month for their work in defending Michael J. Pierce in a double-murder trial expected to begin in March.
The agreement is an increase from the council’s 2009 payment of $393,497 as the county has agreed to pay for an increase in health insurance for employees of the Associated Council.
Also, the contract begins the $7,717 monthly payment beginning this month and authorizes $3,943 be paid to the council for work on the Pierce case in August, September and October this year.
Jefferson County Administrator Philip Morley said the additional payments will stop once the trial is over.
Pierce, accused of killing Quilcene residents Patrick and Janice Yarr and then setting their house ablaze to cover his tracks, is to appear next in Jefferson County Superior Court on Dec. 18 at 8:30 a.m. for a status hearing.
Pierce is charged with eight felonies, including the double homicide of the Yarrs at their Boulton Farm Road home on March 18.
The victims
Patrick Yarr, 60, and Janice Yarr, 57, were found dead in the charred remains the next day.
Investigators said the Yarrs had not died from the fire, and that the blaze was intentionally set.
The Yarrs were described as “icons” in the timber industry during a memorial service at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in April, which drew more than 700 people from across the North Olympic Peninsula.
Pierce, who was arrested March 23, remains in the Jefferson County jail without the option of bail until his trial.
County commissioners approved a resolution beefing up the expenditures to the Associated Council last week.
Daughter objects
On Monday, Michelle Ham, the daughter of the Yarrs, petitioned the commissioners to rethink their decision.
“This not only seems like an extraordinary amount of money, I can’t help but question the supporting documentation you used to arrive at this figure,” Ham told the commissioners.
“Aren’t contracted services required to be advertised as a request for proposals? How is work product and time management monitored?
“This new contract appears to be advantageous financially for [Jefferson Associated Council] to ask for continuance after continuance.
“I personally don’t believe an elected Board of County Commissioners should incorporate themselves into legal criminal matters.”
Commissioner David Sullivan said he and his two colleagues were only incorporating themselves in the budgeting process, not with any matter in the justice system.
“The county commissioners are responsible for the budget and responsible for the costs of defense [for indigent defendants],” the Cape George Democrat said, “and for that matter, the costs for the prosecution and for the court and the sheriff investigation.
“But the budgeting is really the limit as we stay completely away from how they operate in the court.”
Sullivan also said the board was relying on the work of staff to reach the figures in the agreement and believed they had reached a good deal with the defense council.
Costs surveyed
In his analysis of the agreement, Morley said he had checked into neighboring jurisdictions to gauge a correct cost for defense in such a case.
Morley said he is estimating the cost of defending Pierce in 2010 to total of $23,151, bringing the total paid to Jefferson Associated Council in 2010 to $428,344.
The county has spent a total of $85,639.97 on the Pierce case so far.
This includes the cost of defense, psychiatric evaluations and investigation costs.
The total does not include money spent by the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in trying the case.
________
Reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsuladailynews.com.
