Senate Bill No. 298
(By Senators Craigo, Jackson, Ross, Sharpe, Dittmar, Helmick,
Schoonover and Anderson)
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[Introduced February 2, 1996; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance
.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article twenty-one,
chapter twenty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
definitions of eligible proceeding and legal representation
for public defender services.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article twenty-one, chapter twenty-nine of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 21. PUBLIC DEFENDER SERVICES.
§29-21-2. Definitions.
As used in this article, the following words and phrases are
hereby defined:
(1) "Eligible client": Any person who meets the
requirements established by this article to receive publicly
funded legal representation in an eligible proceeding as defined
herein;
(2) "Eligible proceeding": Criminal charges which may
result in incarceration, juvenile proceedings, proceedings to
revoke parole or probation if the revocation may result in
incarceration, contempt of court, child abuse and neglect
proceedings which may result in a termination of parental rights,
and child abuse and neglect proceedings which require an
appointment of a guardian ad litem for either the children or the
adults, mental hygiene commitment proceedings, extradition
proceedings, proceedings brought in aid of an eligible proceeding
and appeals from or post conviction challenges to the final
judgment in an eligible proceeding. Legal representation
provided pursuant to the provisions of this article is limited to
the court system of the state of West Virginia, but does not
include representation in municipal courts unless the accused
eligible client is at risk of incarceration;
(3) "Legal representation": The provision of any legal
services or legal assistance consistent with the purposes and provisions of this article or service as a guardian ad litem;
(4) "Private practice of law": The provision of legal
representation by a public defender or assistant public defender
to a client who is not entitled to receive legal representation
under the provisions of this article, but does not include, among
other activities, teaching;
(5) "Public defender": The staff attorney employed on a
full-time basis by a public defender corporation who, in
addition to providing direct representation to eligible clients,
has administrative responsibility for the operation of the public
defender corporation. The public defender may be a part-time
employee if the board of directors of the public defender
corporation finds efficient operation of the corporation does not
require a full-time attorney and the executive director approves
such part-time employment;
(6) "Assistant public defender": A staff attorney providing
direct representation to eligible clients whose salary and
status as a full-time or part-time employee are fixed by the
board of directors of the public defender corporation;
(7) "Public defender corporation": A corporation created
under section eight of this article for the sole purpose of
providing legal representation to eligible clients; and
(8) "Public defender office": An office operated by a
public defender corporation to provide legal representation
under the provisions of this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow attorneys who
are appointed as guardians ad litem in abuse and neglect cases to
bill for their services through Public Defender Services as they
would in a felony case.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.