General Assembly approves waiver of compensation caps for court appointed counsel

As the Times-Dispatch pointed out, the General Assembly took a small step to rectify the horrendously low pay for court appointed counsel by passing Senate Bill 1168. The bill permits the attorney to request a waiver from the statutory fee caps, and gives discretion to both district court judges and circuit court judges to waive those fee limitations. This change is small and long overdue, but at least is a step in the right direction.