SALT LAKE CITY -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah says the state isn't providing adequate criminal defense for poor defendants.
An ACLU report this week says the average funding for criminal defense attorneys in Utah is less than half the national average.
The ACLU says Utah is one of only two states, along with Pennsylvania, that doesn't fund indigent defense. Instead, the state requires individual counties to cover the costs of defense attorneys.
Gov. Gary Herbert says the state should ensure people who cannot afford an attorney still receive fair representation. But the answer, he says, may be turning to a combination of state and county funding and contracts with private attorneys.
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