Court says lawyer in murder case deserves pay

CHARLEVOIX, Mich. (AP) -- A northern Michigan county set aside $50,000 to search a landfill for evidence in a suspected homicide. But a judge has been unwilling to order public payment to a lawyer who spent months defending the man convicted of murder. The state appeals court is sending the dispute back to Charlevoix County court. In a 2-1 decision, the appeals court says Judge Richard Pajtas blew it. The court says the judge abused his discretion in failing to pay Dan Hartman for 710 hours of work in an extraordinary case. Hartman defended Chuck Merriman, who was convicted of second-degree murder after a 16-day trial in 2008. The victim was a brother, although a body has never been found. The trial judge says Hartman had agreed to take the case for free. Published: Tue, Jan 24, 2012