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Attorneys Ask Judges To Uphold Bail Hearing Ruling

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Attorneys for indigent defendants are opposing Attorney General Douglas Gansler's call for Maryland's top court to overturn a landmark decision that says arrestees have a constitutional right to counsel at initial bail hearings.

The Daily Record reports that lawyers Michael Schatzow and Mitchell Mirviss filed documents with the Court of Appeals, Maryland's highest court, and took aim at the governor and politicians who have called for the judges to reverse the decision.

The court ruled 4-3 in September that poor defendants are entitled to have an attorney present at bail hearings. One official estimated it would cost the state $30 million annually to have attorneys available for the 177,000 bail hearings statewide.

The court is scheduled to hear arguments Friday in a case that challenges the ruling.
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Information from: The Daily Record of Baltimore, http://www.mddailyrecord.com

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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