Opinion ID: 1890995
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Determination of Services Required.

Text: The character and extent of the services reasonably required must be determined upon the basis of the circumstances in which the particular defendant has found himself. The court is not, because of the indigency of the accused, to be niggardly in determining what services were reasonably required. On the other hand, unnecessary services are not to be paid for out of the public treasury. Determination of the character and extent of the services reasonably necessary requires the careful exercise of judgment. When the court fixes the attorney's fee after trial, it has certain advantages of hindsight which counsel did not have when he prepared for the defense. All practicing attorneys have shared the experience, however, when the time for billing a client has arrived, of forgoing charges for time hopefully spent in research and investigation on thin leads which turned out to be fruitless. This is one of the hazards of the profession. The court should carefully consider the judgment which the attorney exercised in deciding what investigation and preparation would be useful, but the ultimate responsibility rests on the court and it is not bound by the attorney's decision. The court has the power and duty to take into consideration its own observations of the trial and the facts developed by the evidence.