While their counterparts in other counties fear the new policy will lead the state's criminal justice system to grind to a halt, judicial insiders in Anne Arundel County say the public defender will have to find a way to represent those defendants.

"I fully expect the Office of the Public Defender to comply with the law when they appear in my courtroom," said Circuit Court Judge William C. Mulford II, one of the county judges who handles the bulk of criminal cases at the courthouse on Church Circle.

"It's not a choice. It's something they are required to do," said Kristin Fleckenstein, a spokesman for the county's State's Attorney Office.

Judge Mulford declined to say what he will do if he is handed a letter from the Office of the Public Defender saying it can not afford to provide someone appropriate counsel.

"I'll deal with it when it comes," he said.

Until now, the Office of the Public Defender hired private attorneys when a conflict of interest arose. A public defender could only represent one defendant in a given case, so the office would hire so-called "panel attorneys" to represent any co-defendants.

About 10,000 of the 200,000 cases the office handled last year had to be referred to private attorneys. Those attorneys were paid $50 an hour last year for a total of $4.7 million.

State Public Defender Nancy Forster announced last week that effective Wednesday her office could no longer afford to pay for those private attorneys.

Instead, public defenders would give defendants letters requesting the court appoint counsel.

Kimberlee Schultz, a spokesman for the Office of the Public Defender, said state budget cuts were forcing Ms. Forster's hand. She said the office started out the current fiscal year in July underfunded and that the state's Office of Budget and Management asked Ms. Forster last month to trim another $1.3 million from her operating budget.

Ms. Forster chose to cut the panel attorneys rather than staff attorneys, she said. Ms. Schultz explained salaries make up about 90 percent of the office's budget and she did not have "a lot of discretion" in what she could cut.

Ms. Schultz said state law and an opinion by the Maryland Attorney General allows the office to turn away some indigent defendants and ask the court to appoint them counsel.

"Obviously Ms. Forster did her homework before making this decision," she said.

Chief Judge Robert M. Bell is reviewing the issue and is "in the process of considering how to respond," said Darrell Pressley, a spokesman for the state court system.

Rick Abbruzzese, spokesman for Gov. Martin O'Malley, clarified Friday that the governor has not cut any money from the Office of the Public Defender yet - only requested recommendations. Last month, Mr. O'Malley asked all state agencies to recommend how best to trim up to 5 percent from their budgets.

"Everybody is being asked ... to do more with less," Mr. Abbruzzese said, stressing the state's Department of Budget and Management still is working with the Office of the Public Defender to determine what should be cut.

"There quite possibly might be other possibilities," he said.

Mr. O'Malley will take his final recommendation to the Board of Public Works on Oct. 15.

Anne Arundel County District Public Defender William Davis said Friday he has not had to give any clients a letter yet, but Ms. Schultz said some defendants have received them in other counties.

If the office does not get more money - or at least get to keep its $1.3 million - Ms. Schultz said they will not be able to afford panel attorneys until at least next July. She said Ms. Forster and her various district public defenders are speaking with different judges and prosecutors around the state to minimize the impact.

"We are going to work with everyone as much as possible," she said.

Still, some civil rights advocates, judges and defense attorneys are worried.

"The situation is troubling. Public defense need to be adequately funded to ensure effective access to counsel," said Meredith Curtis, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland.

"We hope that the parties involved here can come together and find a solution that ensures the right to counsel."

Judge William C. Missouri, chief administrative judge for the Prince George's County Circuit Court, told <i>The Washington Post</i> last week the policy could "bring the criminal justice system to a grinding halt."

And Frank Gray, a defense attorney in Anne Arundel County, said that if the policy is allowed to stand it will have far-reaching effects on all criminal cases in the county - not just those handled by the public defender.

"Even people who have lawyers are going to have their cases interrupted," he said.