See! I was right. As I said in this post, the indigence levels are so low that a middle class person earning a regular salary wouldn’t qualify for a PD, but yet probably doesn’t make enough money to pay a private attorney the standard $1500 for representation.

Yesterday’s Hartford Advocate edition has a story on that very point.

Indigence income levels are based on federal poverty guidelines. The federal poverty line is now set at $9,570 for a single person with no dependents. This figure is then multiplied to determine indigence in misdemeanor and felony cases. For misdemeanors, the figure is 150 percent of the federal poverty line; for felony cases, the figure is 200 percent.

For misdemeanors, this works out to $14,355 gross annual income or $205 weekly net (after taxes). For felonies, it’s $19,140 gross annual or $275 weekly net income. These standards rise with the number of dependents — for misdemeanors each dependent, add $70 to the weekly net, and in felony cases $90 weekly.

Better start saving – stockpiling is more like it.