VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — A county judge has ruled that a $1 million Washington state lottery winner does not qualify to have a public defender.
The Vancouver Columbian reports (http://bit.ly/oYftOj ) that 28-year-old Megan Gatlin’s earnings after taxes were $670,000 from winning the Oregon Lottery’s St. Patrick’s Day Raffle in April. A month later, she was appointed defense attorney John Peterson to represent her on charges of possession of a controlled substance and third-degree theft.
On Friday, Peterson told Superior Court Judge Dan Stahnke that he didn’t think it was right for the county to pick up the costs of defending Gatlin. Peterson says that at the time of the appointment the court didn’t know Gatlin had won the lottery.
When questioned, Gatlin told the judge that she court officials only asked her if she was employed, but never questioned how much money she had in her bank account.
