Georgia's public defender system is refusing to pay the attorneys who agreed to represent a man in his capital murder trial.

Attorneys Michael C. Garrett and Randoph Frails have found themselves in the middle of a statewide debate and feud among courts, legislators and the public defender system.

The two local attorneys represented Willie Palmer in Burke County Superior Court this summer. Mr. Palmer, who killed his estranged wife and stepdaughter, was sentenced to death again at his recent retrial.

The retrial was needed because Mr. Palmer's 1997 conviction and death sentence were overturned in March 2005, several weeks after the state's new public defender system was created.

The Georgia Public Defender Standards Council includes a section that is responsible for the defense of poor people facing death penalty trials. The office has attorneys to try cases and the authority to hire private counsel, such as Mr. Garrett and Mr. Frails.

The council is refusing to pay their bills, saying that because Mr. Palmer was indicted before the council was created, it isn't responsible for the legal bills.

An attorney general's opinion from March 2005 says the council is not, and cannot be, responsible for any legal bills before Jan. 1, 2005.

However, Senior Judge William M. Fleming Jr. took another view of the law. He signed an order in August ordering the council to pay Mr. Garrett's and Mr. Frails' legal bills.

The order reads, in part, that the law creating the public defender system refers to when attorneys are appointed, not when defendants are indicted. Mr. Garrett and Mr. Frails were appointed after Jan. 1, 2005, so the state is responsible, Judge Fleming wrote.

The public defender council is appealing the order to the Georgia Supreme Court.

Last month, the council lost a Supreme Court case against Fulton County concerning which government should pay expenses in the case of Atlanta courthouse shooting suspect Brian Nichols. The Supreme Court ruled the state is responsible.

Mr. Nichols is facing a capital murder trial. His legal bills have reportedly reached $1.8 million, and jury selection hasn't even begun.

The cost of Mr. Nichols' defense caused outrage among legislators, who slashed the funding for the public defender system.

Mr. Garrett and Mr. Frails' bill is a fraction of that charged for Mr. Nichols, less than $120,000 for legal fees and expenses.

The battle has left both attorneys doubting they will ever volunteer for another capital murder case.

"I don't think anyone else will be taking any if at the end of the day you have to argue to get paid," Mr. Frails said.

Reach Sandy Hodson at (706) 823-3226 or sandy.hodson@augustachronicle.com.