Plan to Cut Back Public Defenders Stirs Worry in Georgia.

The chief judge of the Fulton County Superior Court on Monday sharply criticized a state plan to lay off a large group of public defenders, saying it could cause a legal crisis. On Friday, the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council, which administers Georgia's defender system, announced it would close the Metro Conflict Defender Office, one of four such offices in Georgia that handle cases in which it would be a conflict of interest for the local public defender's office to represent more than one client charged with the same crime. The issue arises when, for example, two defendants in the same bank robbery turn on each other after they are arrested. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]