Ohio will pay attorneys appointed to defend people facing the death penalty $165 an hour starting in late November, up from the current $140 rate, as the state grapples with a shrinking pool of lawyers willing and able to take on capital cases. The new rate applies to all stages of capital litigation, including trials, appeals and postconviction proceedings.
The Capital Case Attorney Fee Council, a five-person body created under state law in 2016, approved the increase after adopting a recommendation from the Ohio Public Defender's Office, according to Cleveland.com. The council, established under R.C. 120.33(D), meets annually to review compensation rates for lawyers appointed to represent indigent defendants in death-penalty cases, according to the Supreme Court of Ohio.
Ohio Public Defender Elizabeth R. Miller requested the increase, citing a smaller pool of attorneys willing to handle capital cases, rising case complexity tied to digital technology, and inflation. In a letter cited by the report, Miller said Ohio must recruit and retain highly qualified attorneys and prevent financial constraints from compromising representation.
A Rate That Has Climbed Twice in Three Years
Ohio previously paid appointed death-penalty attorneys $140 per hour, a rate the state had increased from $125 in 2023. That 2023 change took effect July 17 of that year, according to a Court News Ohio announcement at the time. The rate compares with the $175 an hour federal courts pay for court-appointed work, per the same Cleveland.com report.
Michael Hess, chairman of the Capital Case Attorney Fee Council, said updating compensation rates helps ensure continued access to experienced counsel in capital cases and promotes fair administration of justice. Hess considered information from the Ohio Public Defender's Office, compensation rates in other states, and feedback from legal organizations and attorneys before the council's decision, the report states.
Strict Qualifications for Capital Defense Work
Not just any attorney can take these cases. Attorneys serving in Ohio death-penalty cases must be certified by the Ohio Supreme Court's Commission on Appointment of Counsel in Capital Cases, and a lead attorney must have five years of criminal defense experience in Ohio common pleas courts or criminal appellate experience in Ohio appellate courts or the Ohio Supreme Court. A lead attorney must also have served as lead counsel in a capital case or as co-counsel in two capital cases, and as lead counsel in a jury trial involving murder or aggravated murder within the previous 10 years.
Once certified, capital-case lawyers must complete 12 hours of continuing education courses and be recertified every two years, a requirement echoed in the commission's own rules, which specify that an attorney must satisfactorily complete at least twelve hours of training on the defense of capital cases accredited by the commission in the two-year period before certification and every two years after, according to the Ohio Supreme Court. Ohio currently has 216 lawyers certified for appointment in death-penalty cases, according to the commission.
A Statewide Shortage Behind the Push
The pay increase lands against the backdrop of a broader attorney shortage across Ohio, one that has contributed to delays in court cases statewide. The Ohio State Bar Association reported that 82 of Ohio's 88 counties did not have enough attorneys to serve their populations in 2025, and the strain is especially visible outside the state's major cities.
Rural communities across Ohio are facing a growing crisis, with the bar association warning of a shortage of attorneys, according to WKBN. In 82 of Ohio's 88 counties, there is fewer than one private-practice attorney to serve every 700 residents, and in 57 counties, that ratio drops to fewer than one attorney for every 1,500 residents, per the same report.
Attorney shortages nationally are tied to inadequate compensation, uncontrolled workloads and poorly structured public-defense systems, according to the Sixth Amendment Center. Compensation for appointed attorneys varies widely from state to state depending on factors such as the number of law schools in a jurisdiction, lawyer availability, cost of living and geographic diversity, and some states pair high hourly rates with strict caps on total compensation while others impose no caps at all.
