Price Gets 2nd Public-Financed Lawyer
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Taxpayers will foot an even bigger bill for the defense of Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price. U.S. Magistrate Renee Toliver on Friday morning appointed public defender Chris Knox as a second public-financed lawyer for the embattled commissioner.
Price and three others are accused of a massive bribery scheme to land lucrative county contracts. He was arrested last year as part of the Dallas corruption investigation. He pleaded not guilty and has maintained his innocence all along.
Knox joins Shirley Baccus-Lobel. Price's longtime lawyer Billy Ravkind is also still on the legal team, but Baccus-Lobel is expected to be the lead attorney.
Back in September, a federal judge balked at giving Price any public help with his legal bills, saying that he was able to afford his own defense. However, after an affidavit was filed, the judge had a change of mind last month and appointed Baccus-Lobel.
The trial is scheduled to begin in January.