(A) Establishment and purpose of Board. The County Public Defender Board is hereby established for the purpose of providing legal representation to indigent persons who are defendants or respondents in criminal, juvenile, probation violation, extradition, child support, civil commitment and other proceedings where the right to counsel at public expense has been established by law; provided, however, that, this section shall not be construed to require the provision of legal representation to indigent persons seeking post-conviction relief, for whom representation by the State Public Defender is provided by law.
(B) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
BOARD. The County Public Defender Board created by this section.
INDIGENT PERSON. A person who, as a defendant or a respondent, requests legal representation and is determined by the court to be entitled to legal representation at public expense.
LEGAL REPRESENTATION.
(a) The services of an attorney provided to an indigent person in a matter originating in a state court in the county involving:
1. A person charged with a crime, as defined by I.C. 35-41-1-6;
2. A juvenile charged with an act of delinquency, as defined in I.C. 31-37-1-2;
3. A person charged with a violation of a condition of probation established as a part of a disposition or sentence in a juvenile or criminal matter;
4. Detention of a person subject to extradition to another jurisdiction;
5. Proceedings to collect unpaid child support pursuant to I.C. 31-16-17-12;
6. Civil commitment and contempt proceedings; or
7. Other proceedings where the right to counsel at public expense has been established by law.
(b) The term LEGAL REPRESENTATION includes services in connection with all pretrial, trial and appellate proceedings in which an indigent person has a right to counsel.
(C) Board membership and appointment.
(1) The Board shall consist of three members: one member appointed by the County Commissioners; and two members, who may not be from the same political party, appointed by majority vote of the judges in the county who exercise felony or juvenile jurisdiction.
(2) The initial term of the member appointed by the County Commissioners shall expire on 12-31-2013. The initial term of one member appointed by the judges shall expire on 12-31-2014 and the initial term of the other member appointed by the judges shall expire on 12-31-2015.
(3) After the initial term of each member, appointments shall be for three-year terms. A member of the Board shall serve until his or her successor is appointed. An appointment to fill a vacancy shall be made by the authority appointing the member vacating the position and shall be for the remainder of the unexpired term.
(4) The following persons shall be ineligible to serve as members of the Board: a city, town or county attorney, a law enforcement officer, a judge or a court employee.
(5) Board members shall serve without pay but may, as provided by I.C. 33-40-7-4, receive reimbursement for expenses incurred in connection with their duties, if approved by the Board.
(6) Two members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting the business of the Board. To be effective, all decisions of the Board must be approved by a majority vote of the members present.
(7) The Board shall meet at least quarterly or upon call of its Chairperson or any two members of the Board.
(8) The Board shall elect its Chairperson by a majority vote of the Board.
(9) The Board may be terminated by the Board of Commissioners by giving at least 90-days’ written notice to the appointing judges.
(D) Powers and duties of Board. The Board shall have the following powers and duties:
(1) Prepare a comprehensive plan for providing legal representation to indigent persons in the county in accordance with I.C. 33-40-7-5. The comprehensive plan shall, at a minimum, provide for:
(a) Legal representation to an indigent person at the earliest possible point in time;
(b) Legal representation to an indigent person by the same attorney or attorneys through the pendency of the matter to the greatest extent possible; except that, representation on appeal should be by an attorney other than trial counsel; and
(c) Professional development, continuing legal education and malpractice coverage for public defenders.
(2) Establish policies and procedure for the provision of competent legal representation for indigent persons in criminal, juvenile, probation violation, extradition, child support and criminal contempt and other matters pursuant to the comprehensive plan;
(3) Establish guidelines and procedures for the determination of indigence and for the appropriate reimbursement for legal representation provided at public expense in accordance with I.C. 33-40-3-1 et seq.;
(4) Recommend an annual operating budget for the Board and monitor the expenditures of its funds; and
(5) Prepare and submit to the County Council and the general public an annual report on the operation of the Board.
(E) Authority of judges. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to abridge the authority of any judge of a state court of the county from appointing counsel for any person entitled thereto under the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of the state.
(F) Scope. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to create a right of reimbursement pursuant to I.C. 33-40-6-1 et seq. and I.C. 33-40-7-11, except to the extent that any claims for reimbursement comply with I.C. 33-40-6-1 et seq., I.C. 33-40-7-11 and the standards of the State Public Defender Commission.
(G) Reference to statutes and severability. It is recognized that the State General Assembly may from time to time amend, recodify or repeal its statutes relating to county public defender boards. References to statutes contained herein shall be deemed references to those in effect after any such amendment or recodification. To the extent permitted by law, any part of this section enacted with reference to a statute repealed by the General Assembly shall remain in full force and effect. If any part of this section is abrogated by an act of the General Assembly or a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder shall remain in full force and effect.
(H) Effective date. This section shall be in full force and effect upon passage, recording and publication as required by law.
(Ord. 2013-08, passed 8-19-2013)