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Introduced Version House Bill 2405 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2405


(By Mr. Speaker, (Mr. Thompson) and Delegate Armstead)

[By Request of the Executive]

[Introduced February 16, 2009; referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]




A BILL to amend and reenact §29-21-3b, §29-21-8 and §29-21-13a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating generally to Public Defender Services; requiring the Indigent Defense Commission to submit a report to the Legislature; authorizing the creation of public defender corporations in the fourth, sixteenth, seventeenth and twenty-sixth judicial circuits; and raising the hourly rate of compensation for panel attorneys.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §29-21-3b, §29-21-8 and §29-21-13a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 21. PUBLIC DEFENDER SERVICES.
§29-21-3b. Indigent Defense Commission.
(a) There is hereby established the Indigent Defense Commission to provide assistance to Public Defender Services with regard to the general policies and procedures of the agency, including, but not limited to, the opening, closing or merging of public defender offices throughout the state and the establishment of performance measures for the qualitative review of indigent defense.
(b) In order to demonstrate a collaborative approach to solving criminal justice problems, the commission shall consist of the Executive Director of Public Defender Services, who shall serve as chair, and the following members appointed by the Governor: (1) One former or retired circuit judge;
(2) Three lawyers, one from each congressional district, who have significant experience in the defense of criminal cases or have demonstrated a strong commitment to quality representation of indigent defendants;
(3) One current chief public defender; and
(4) One nonlawyer with a demonstrated commitment to providing legal services to the indigent;
(5) One person who is a member of an organization that advocates on behalf of people with mental illness and developmental disabilities; and
(6) One attorney with significant experience in the defense of juvenile delinquency and abuse and neglect cases.
(c) The commission shall meet at the times and places specified by the call of the chair: Provided, That the commission shall meet no less than four times each year. Members shall serve without compensation but may receive reimbursement of actual and necessary expenses for each day or portion thereof engaged in this discharge of official duties in a manner consistent with the guidelines of the Travel Management Office of the Department of Administration.
(d) Of the initial appointments made to the commission, two shall be for a term ending one year after the effective date of this section, two for a term ending two years after the effective date of this section, two for a term ending three years after the effective date of this section. Thereafter, terms of office shall be for four years, each term ending on the same day of the same month of the year as did the term which it succeeds. Each member shall hold office from the date of his or her appointment until the end of the term for which he or she was appointed or until his or her successor qualifies for office. When a vacancy occurs as a result of death, resignation or removal in the membership of this commission, it shall be filled by appointment within thirty days of the vacancy for the unexpired portion of the term in the same manner as original appointments. No member shall serve more than two consecutive full or partial terms and no person may be reappointed to the commission until at least two years have elapsed after the completion of a second successive term.
(e) The appointed members of the commission serve four-year terms that shall coincide with the term of the Governor.
(f) The commission has the following powers and duties: (1) To develop standards regarding the qualifications and training for public defenders, assistant public defenders and staff;
(2) To explore opportunities related to the training of appointed panel attorneys;
(3) To evaluate, on an annual basis, the compensation and caseloads of public defenders and appointed panel attorneys; (4) To develop standards for providing and compensating expert witnesses, investigators and other persons who provide services related to legal representation under this article;
(5) To study, monitor and evaluate existing standards for determining eligibility for legal representation under section sixteen of this article;
(6) To study the feasibility and need of creating additional public defender corporations, the activation of public defender corporations and the formation of multicircuit or regional public defender corporations in accordance with the provisions of section eight of this article;
(7) To study the potential for the dissolution of public defender corporations;
(8) To study, monitor, evaluate and make recommendations regarding the training, experience and background necessary for a public defender or panel attorney to competently represent indigent defendants in capital cases; and
(9) To monitor and make recommendations regarding the following activities of the board of directors of each public defender corporation receiving funding pursuant to this article: (A) The appointment of the public defender and any assistant public defenders pursuant to subdivision (1), subsection (c), section fifteen of this article;
(B) The fixing of professional and clerical salaries pursuant to subdivision (2), subsection (c), section fifteen of this article; and
(C) The removal of any public defender, assistant public defender or other employee for misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance pursuant to subdivision (3), subsection (c), section fifteen of this article.
(g) On or before the fifteenth day of January, two thousand nine December 15, 2009, the commission shall report to the Legislature its findings and recommendations on the feasibility and need for the creation of additional public defender corporations; the activation of public defender corporations; the formation of multicircuit or regional public defender corporations; or the dissolution of public defender corporations in accordance with the provisions of section eight of this article.
§29-21-8. Public defender corporations; establishment thereof.
(a) (1) In each judicial circuit of the state, there is hereby created a public defender corporation of the circuit: Provided, That the executive director, with the approval of the Indigent Defense Commission, may authorize the creation, merger or dissolution of a public defender corporation in a judicial circuit where the creation, merger or dissolution of such a public defender corporation would improve the quality of legal representation, assure the prudent and resourceful expenditure of state funds and further the purposes of this article: Provided, however, That prior to the creation, merger or dissolution of a public defender corporation in accordance with this subsection, the commission shall provide a report to the Legislature pursuant to subsection (g), section three-b of this article for approval of the creation, merger, or dissolution of any public defender corporation.
(2) The purpose of these public defender corporations is to provide legal representation in the respective circuits in accordance with the provisions of this article. A public defender corporation may employ full-time attorneys and employ part-time attorneys in whatever combination that the public defender corporation deems most cost effective.
(b) If the executive director, with the approval of the Indigent Defense Commission, determines there is a need to activate, merge or dissolve a corporation in a judicial circuit of the state, pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the Indigent Defense Commission shall first consult with and give substantial consideration to the recommendation of the judge of a single-judge circuit or the chief judge of a multi-judge circuit.
(c) The Legislature hereby acknowledges receipt of the January 2009 report of the Indigent Defense Commission as previously required by subsection (g), section three-b of this article and concurs with the recommendations therein relating to the creation of public defender corporations in certain judicial circuits. In accordance with said recommendations, the Legislature hereby authorizes the executive director to create a public defender corporation in each of the fourth, sixteenth, seventeenth and twenty-sixth judicial circuits. Within thirty days of the effective date of the amendments to this section during the 2009 regular session of the Legislature, a board of directors shall be appointed, in the manner set forth in section fifteen of this article, for each public defender corporation created in accordance with this subsection. Said public defender corporations shall begin offering services within one hundred fifty days of the effective date of the amendments to this section or as soon as reasonably practicable.
§29-21-13a. Compensation and expenses for panel attorneys.

(a) All panel attorneys shall maintain detailed and accurate records of the time expended and expenses incurred on behalf of eligible clients, and upon completion of each case, exclusive of appeal, shall submit to the appointing court a voucher for services. Claims for fees and expense reimbursements shall be submitted to the appointing court on forms approved by the executive director. The executive director shall establish guidelines for the submission of vouchers and claims for fees and expense reimbursements under this section. Claims submitted more than ninety calendar days after the last date of service shall be rejected, unless for good cause, the appointing court authorizes in writing an extension: Provided, That claims where the last date of service occurred prior to July 1, 2008, shall be rejected unless submitted prior to January 1, 2009.
The appointing court shall review the voucher to determine if the time and expense claims are reasonable, necessary and valid, and shall forward the voucher to the agency with an order approving payment of the claimed amount or of a lesser sum the court considers appropriate.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, Public Defender Services may pay by direct bill, prior to the completion of the case, litigation expenses incurred by attorneys appointed under this article.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, a panel attorney may be compensated for services rendered and reimbursed for expenses incurred prior to the completion of the case where: (1) More than six months have expired since the commencement of the panel attorney's representation in the case; and (2) no prior payment of attorney fees has been made to the panel attorney by Public Defender Services during the case. The executive director, in his or her discretion, may authorize periodic payments where ongoing representation extends beyond six months in duration. The amounts of any fees or expenses paid to the panel attorney on an interim basis, when combined with any amounts paid to the panel attorney at the conclusion of the case, shall not exceed the limitations on fees and expenses imposed by this section.
(d) In each case in which a panel attorney provides legal representation under this article, and in each appeal after conviction in circuit court, the panel attorney shall be compensated at the following rates for actual and necessary time expended for services performed and expenses incurred subsequent to the effective date of this article:
(1) For attorney's work performed out of court, compensation shall be at the rate of forty-five dollars $65 per hour. For paralegal's work performed out of court for the attorney, compensation shall be at the rate of the paralegal's regular compensation on an hourly basis or, if salaried, at the hourly rate of compensation which would produce the paralegal's current salary, but in no event shall the compensation exceed $20 per hour. Out-of-court work includes, but is not limited to, travel, interviews of clients or witnesses, preparation of pleadings and prehearing or pretrial research.
(2) For attorney's work performed in court, compensation shall be at the rate of sixty-five dollars $95 per hour. No compensation for paralegal's work performed in court shall be allowed. In-court work includes, but is not limited to, all time spent awaiting hearing or trial before a judge, magistrate, special master or other judicial officer.
(3) The maximum amount of compensation for out-of-court and in-court work under this subsection is as follows: For proceedings of any kind involving felonies for which a penalty of life imprisonment may be imposed, the amount as the court may approve; for all other eligible proceedings, $3,000 unless the court, for good cause shown, approves payment of a larger sum.
(e) Actual and necessary expenses incurred in providing legal representation for proceedings of any kind involving felonies for which a penalty of life imprisonment may be imposed, including, but not limited to, expenses for travel, transcripts, salaried or contracted investigative services and expert witnesses, shall be reimbursed in an amount as the court may approve. For all other eligible proceedings, actual and necessary expenses incurred in providing legal representation, including, but not limited to, expenses for travel, transcripts, salaried or contracted investigative services and expert witnesses, shall be reimbursed to a maximum of $1,500 unless the court, for good cause shown, approves reimbursement of a larger sum.
Expense vouchers shall specifically set forth the nature, amount and purpose of expenses incurred and shall provide receipts, invoices or other documentation required by the executive director and the State Auditor:
(1) (A) Reimbursement of expenses for production of transcripts of proceedings reported by a court reporter is limited to the cost per original page and per copy page as set forth in section four, article seven, chapter fifty-one of this code. (B) (I) There shall be no reimbursement of expenses for or production of a transcript of a preliminary hearing before a magistrate or juvenile referee, or of a magistrate court trial, where such hearing or trial has also been recorded electronically in accordance with the provisions of section eight, article five, chapter fifty of this code or court rule.
(ii) Reimbursement of the expense of an appearance fee for a court reporter who reports a proceeding other than one described in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph is limited to $25. Where a transcript of a proceeding is produced, there shall be no reimbursement for the expense of any appearance fee.
(iii) Except for the appearance fees provided in this paragraph, there shall be no reimbursement for hourly court reporters' fees or fees for other time expended by the court reporter, either at the proceeding or traveling to or from the proceeding.
(C) Reimbursement of the cost of transcription of tapes electronically recorded during preliminary hearings or magistrate court trials is limited to $1 per page.
(2) Reimbursement for any travel expense incurred in an eligible proceeding is limited to the rates for the reimbursement of travel expenses established by rules promulgated by the Governor pursuant to the provisions of section eleven, article eight, three, chapter twelve of this code and administered by the Secretary of the Department of Administration pursuant to the provisions of section forty-eight, article three, chapter five-a of this code.
(3) Reimbursement for investigative services is limited to a rate of $30 per hour for work performed by an investigator.
(f) For purposes of compensation under this section, an appeal from magistrate court to circuit court, an appeal from a final order of the circuit court or a proceeding seeking an extraordinary remedy made to the Supreme Court of Appeals shall be considered a separate case.
(g) Vouchers submitted under this section shall specifically set forth the nature of the service rendered, the stage of proceeding or type of hearing involved, the date and place the service was rendered and the amount of time expended in each instance. All time claimed on the vouchers shall be itemized to the nearest tenth of an hour. If the charge against the eligible client for which services were rendered is one of several charges involving multiple warrants or indictments, the voucher shall indicate the fact and sufficiently identify the several charges so as to enable the court to avoid a duplication of compensation for services rendered. The executive director shall refuse to requisition payment for any voucher which is not in conformity with the recordkeeping, compensation or other provisions of this article or the voucher guidelines established issued pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and in such circumstance shall return the voucher to the court or to the service provider for further review or correction.
(h) Vouchers submitted under this section after July 1, 2008, shall be reimbursed within ninety days of receipt. Reimbursements after ninety days shall bear interest from the ninety-first day at the legal rate in effect for the calendar year in which payment is due.
(i) Vouchers submitted for fees and expenses involving child abuse and neglect cases shall be processed for payment before processing vouchers submitted for all other cases.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the creation of public defender corporations in the fourth, sixteenth, seventeenth and twenty-sixth judicial circuits and to raise the hourly rate of compensation for panel attorneys.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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