Hundreds of Dallas County court-appointed attorneys and contractors have come forward saying they have not been paid in weeks after problems with a new payroll system.

Defense attorneys, court reporters, expert witnesses and investigators have not been paid in six weeks, said Douglas Huff, the president of the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Some are owed more than $50,000 in back pay.

One firm of six investigators that Dallas County relies on frequently for those who cannot pay for their defense has depleted its savings to pay employees for the last month and a half, Huff said in an interview.

[Apparently the county “upgraded” its Oracle-based system, which couldn’t handle the contract workers’ payments. The county says they’ve fixed the glitch, but until people get paid, good luck getting them to accept appointment work for indigent clients. A few may go out of business soon if the back pay doesn’t show up. The question should be: how did this go through multiple payroll/payment dates without immediately being corrected and the contractors reimbursed? — Ed]