Idaho S 1258: PUBLIC DEFENSE – Amends existing law to provide that a board of county commissioners may apply for funds for extraordinary litigation costs.

Bill Text

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO
Sixty-fourth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2018
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1258
BY JUDICIARY AND RULES COMMITTEE
AN ACT1
RELATING TO PUBLIC DEFENSE; AMENDING SECTION 19-850, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE2
THAT A BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MAY APPLY FOR FUNDS FOR EXTRAORDI-3
NARY LITIGATION COSTS AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.4
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:5
SECTION 1. That Section 19-850, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby6
amended to read as follows:7
19-850. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE STATE PUBLIC DEFENSE COMMISSION. (1)8
The state public defense commission shall:9
(a) Promulgate rules in accordance with the provisions of chapter 52,10
title 67, Idaho Code, establishing the following:11
(i) Training and continuing legal education requirements for de-12
fending attorneys, which shall promote competency and consistency13
in case types including, but not limited to, criminal, juvenile,14
capital, abuse and neglect, post-conviction, civil commitment and15
criminal contempt;16
(ii) Uniform data reporting requirements and model forms for the17
annual reports submitted pursuant to section 19-864, Idaho Code,18
which shall include, but not be limited to, caseload, workload and19
expenditures;20
(iii) Model contracts and core requirements for contracts between21
counties and private attorneys for the provision of indigent de-22
fense services, which shall include, but not be limited to, com-23
pliance with indigent defense standards;24
(iv) Procedures and forms by which counties may apply to the com-25
mission, pursuant to section 19-862A, Idaho Code, for funds to be26
used to bring their delivery of indigent defense services into27
compliance with applicable indigent defense standards;28
(v) Procedures for administrative review and fair hearings in ac-29
cordance with the Idaho administrative procedure act, which shall30
include, but not be limited to, providing for a neutral hearing of-31
ficer in such hearings;32
(vi) Procedures for the oversight, implementation, enforcement33
and modification of indigent defense standards so that the right34
to counsel of indigent persons, as provided in section 19-852,35
Idaho Code, is constitutionally delivered to all indigent persons36
in this state; and37
(vii) Standards for defending attorneys that utilize, to the ex-38
tent reasonably practicable taking into consideration factors39
such as case complexity, support services and travel, the follow-40
ing principles:41

2
1. The delivery of indigent defense services should be inde-1
pendent of political and judicial influence, though the ju-2
diciary is encouraged to contribute information and advice3
concerning the delivery of indigent defense services.4
2. Defending attorneys should have sufficient time and pri-5
vate physical space so that attorney-client confidentiality6
is safeguarded during meetings with clients.7
3. Defending attorneys' workloads should permit effective8
representation.9
4. Economic disincentives or incentives that impair defend-10
ing attorneys' ability to provide effective representation11
should be avoided.12
5. Defending attorneys' abilities, training and experience13
should match the nature and complexity of the cases in which14
they provide services including, but not limited to, cases15
involving complex felonies, juveniles and child protection.16
6. The defending attorney assigned to a particular case17
should, to the extent reasonably practicable, continuously18
oversee the representation of that case and personally ap-19
pear at every substantive court hearing.20
7. There should be reasonable equity between defending21
attorneys and prosecuting attorneys with respect to re-22
sources, staff and facilities.23
8. Defending attorneys should obtain continuing legal edu-24
cation relevant to their indigent defense cases.25
9. Defending attorneys should be regularly reviewed and26
supervised for compliance with indigent defense standards27
and, if applicable, compliance with indigent defense stan-28
dards as set forth in contractual provisions.29
10. Defending attorneys should identify and resolve con-30
flicts of interest in conformance with the Idaho rules of31
professional conduct and other applicable constitutional32
standards.33
Violation of or noncompliance with the principles listed in this34
subparagraph does not constitute ineffective assistance of coun-35
sel under the constitutions of the United States or the state of36
Idaho and does not otherwise constitute grounds for post-convic-37
tion relief.38
(b) On or before January 20, 2015, and by January 20 of each year there-39
after as deemed necessary by the commission, make recommendations to40
the Idaho legislature for legislation on public defense system issues41
including, but not limited to:42
(i) Enforcement mechanisms; and43
(ii) Funding issues including, but not limited to, formulas for44
the calculation of local shares and state indigent defense grants.45
(c