The Nation - News from Aug. 31, 1987

Screening defendants to determine their ability to pay for a lawyer and requiring some to pay part or all of their defense costs could reduce the financial burden on courts, the Justice Department said. The National Institute of Justice, a research arm of the department, reached its conclusions after examining measures used to control costs in Los Angeles, Colorado and Seattle. Indigent defense expenditures more than tripled between 1976 and 1982, rising from about $200 million a year to more than $600 million, said James K. Stewart, director of the institute.