2006 Louisiana Laws - RS 15:144 — Judicial district indigent defender board

§144.  Judicial district indigent defender board

A.  An indigent defender board, hereinafter referred to as the district board, shall be established in each judicial district, domiciled at a place approved by a majority of the district court judges.  In the event of a tie vote, the chief judge shall determine where the board shall be domiciled.

B.  Each district board shall be composed of no less than three nor more than seven members as determined by the district court.  In Orleans Parish, the board shall be composed of no less than three nor more than nine members as determined by the criminal district court.  Board members shall be selected by the district court (in Orleans Parish, the criminal district court) from nominees provided by each bar association within the judicial district.  In the event no nominations are submitted by the bar association within a judicial district, a majority of the district court judges shall select a board member.  Each parish within the judicial district shall have a representative on the board.  The board shall select a chairman from its members. Elected officials, district attorneys, their employees, including assistant district attorneys, or prosecutors in any court shall not be permitted to serve on the district board.

C.  A majority of the members of the district board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and all official action shall require the favorable vote of a majority of the members present.

D.  The judges of each judicial district shall adopt rules and regulations to establish policy regarding the appointment of members to the indigent defender board, which shall at a minimum include provisions for requiring that the racial and gender makeup of the board reflect the racial and gender makeup of the judicial district involved.  Any citizen of majority age shall have a cause of action to enjoin the activities of the board for failure to comply with this provision.

E.  The members of the indigent defender boards and the attorneys assigned to represent indigents as provided in this Title, upon appointment, shall be subject to judicial supervision only in the same manner and to the same extent as attorneys engaged in the private practice of law.  The authority of the district court judges in each judicial district to appoint members to the district board shall not in any way be construed to authorize those judges to participate in specific management decisions of the district board, in order to preserve the independence of attorneys appointed to represent indigent defendants consistent with the standards adopted by the American Bar Association and other standards of practice.

Added by Acts 1974, No. 401, §2; Amended by Acts 1976, No. 653, §1; Acts 1987, No. 445, §1; Acts 1990, No. 1044, §1; Acts 2004, No. 367, §1; Acts 2006, No. 326, §2.