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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the prioritization of certain available legal defense |
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services when appointing representation for an indigent defendant |
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in a criminal case. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Articles 26.04(f), (h), and (i), Code of |
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Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows: |
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(f) In a county in which a public defender's office is |
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created or designated under Article 26.044, the court or the |
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courts' designee shall [may] appoint that office to represent the |
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defendant, except that the court is not required to make an |
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appointment under this subsection if: |
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(1) the court makes a finding of good cause on the |
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record for appointing other counsel; or |
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(2) a managed assigned counsel program also exists in |
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the county and an attorney will be appointed under that program [in
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accordance with guidelines established for the office]. |
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(h) Subject to Subsection (f), in [In] a county in which an |
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alternative program for appointing counsel is established as |
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provided by Subsection (g) and is approved by the presiding judge of |
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the administrative judicial region, a court or the courts' designee |
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may appoint an attorney to represent an indigent defendant by using |
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the alternative program. In establishing an alternative program |
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under Subsection (g), the judges of the courts establishing the |
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program may not, without the approval of the commissioners court, |
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obligate the county by contract or by the creation of new positions |
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that cause an increase in expenditure of county funds. |
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(i) Subject to Subsection (f), a [A] court or the courts' |
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designee required under Subsection (c) to appoint an attorney to |
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represent a defendant accused or convicted of a felony may appoint |
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an attorney from any county located in the court's administrative |
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judicial region. |
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SECTION 2. Article 26.044(c-1), Code of Criminal Procedure, |
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is amended to read as follows: |
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(c-1) A written plan under Subsection (b-1) or a proposal |
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under Subsection (c) must include: |
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(1) a budget for the public defender's office, |
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including salaries; |
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(2) a description of each personnel position, |
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including the chief public defender position; |
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(3) the maximum allowable caseloads for each attorney |
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employed by the public defender's office; |
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(4) provisions for personnel training; |
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(5) a description of anticipated overhead costs for |
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the public defender's office; |
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(6) policies regarding the use of licensed |
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investigators and expert witnesses by the public defender's office; |
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[and] |
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(7) a policy to ensure that the chief public defender |
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and other attorneys employed by the public defender's office do not |
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provide representation to a defendant if doing so would create a |
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conflict of interest that has not been waived by the client; and |
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(8) a policy that establishes circumstances |
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constituting good cause under Article 26.04(f), such as attorney |
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caseloads at the public defender's office, the distance that an |
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attorney employed by a regional public defender's office would have |
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to travel if appointed to the case, or any other circumstance that |
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the commissioners court or courts consider appropriate. |
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SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to a criminal proceeding that commences on or after the effective |
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date of this Act. A criminal proceeding that commences before the |
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effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the |
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proceeding commenced, and the former law is continued in effect for |
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that purpose. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |