Matter of Estate of Benney

The question in this case is whether the state’s claim for recoupment of state funds for court-appointed attorney fees and investigative expenses paid on behalf of an indigent defendant in a criminal prosecution has priority over an attorney’s lien for professional services rendered by the attorney on behalf of the same defendant in connection with the defendant’s claim against the estate of his deceased wife. The court of appeals in In the Matter of the Estate of Benney, 771 P.2d 7 (Colo.App.1988), held that the attorney’s lien was entitled to priority over the state’s claim for recoupment.…