You seldom get the response you want by using intimidation, threats or arm-twisting. It would have been far better for the judges to have scheduled a follow-up meeting with the BOC to discuss the issue rather than running to a legal document in an effort to bully the county into action. The judges didn't anticipate the public's response would go against them. Although the judges probably looked at this matter as just another court rule, they should have also realized that indigent defense isn't high on the list of the public's priorities. In fact, the public doesn't give a darn about helping defend those accused of committing crimes.
Every issue has a political side.
Anticipate the politics of an issue and be sensitive to those concerns even if you believe another course of action is necessary. No one can predict the outcome of this controversy. If the state has indeed changed the rules as the judges indicate, then the county may have no choice but to double its funding for indigent defense in the county. But county leaders don't have to like it nor should they give in without making it clear to our elected officials in Atlanta that this emphasis on helping those accused of crimes rubs against the grain of the public, which is more concerned with putting offenders behind bars rather than giving them help to stay out of jail. Our judges should have seen this controversy coming and been better prepared to deal with the reaction.