2006 Louisiana Laws - RS 15:151.2 — Powers; duties; responsibilities; limitations

§151.2.  Powers; duties; responsibilities; limitations

A.  The board may provide supplemental funds, when appropriated by the legislature for that purpose, to judicial district indigent defender boards only as authorized herein for the purposes of complying with the requirements of the Constitution of Louisiana and the Constitution of the United States of America and specific statutory provisions affording the right to counsel to indigent defendants in criminal cases.

B.  The board may set the terms of employment and compensation of a director and such staff as it determines to be necessary.  The board may enter into contracts in accordance with law for the purpose of maintaining and operating an office and performing the functions enumerated herein.

C.  Except as provided in Paragraph (D)(10), the board shall not provide supplemental funds to a judicial district indigent defender board, unless the judicial district has instituted and is complying with a system to assure that defense services are limited only to those who meet indigency standards after reasonable inquiry, including compliance with R.S. 15:147.

D.  The board shall adopt rules for providing supplemental assistance to the judicial district indigent defender boards, which address the following:

(1)  Guidelines for supplemental assistance that take into account the provision of defense services by the judicial district indigent defender board for misdemeanor offenses.

(2)  Guidelines for supplemental assistance that take into account the employment by the judicial district indigent defender board of other than trial counsel or counsel from within the judicial district to provide services for appeals.

(3)  Guidelines for supplemental assistance that take into account the failure of the judicial district indigent defender board to provide local counsel in capital cases.

(4)  Guidelines for supplemental assistance relating to expenses of scientific testing and expert witnesses.

(5)  Guidelines for supplemental assistance that take into account the administrative expenses and management practices and efficiencies of the judicial district indigent defender board.

(6)  Guidelines for supplemental assistance for compensation when the judicial district indigent defender board compensates a lawyer retained to handle a specific case or cases.

(7)  Guidelines for supplemental assistance that take into account the providing by the judicial district indigent defender board of financial and other information and cooperation reasonably necessary to carry out the enumerated powers of the board.

(8)  Guidelines for supplemental assistance that take into account capital cases, appellate cases, expert witnesses, specialized testing and other clearly demonstrated needs.

(9)  Guidelines for supplemental assistance to judicial district indigent defender boards which participate in regional defense service centers.

(10)  Guidelines for supplemental assistance in specific capital cases for judicial district indigent defender boards which are not otherwise qualified to receive supplemental assistance.  The limitations of Paragraph C(1) shall not apply to such assistance.

E.  The board shall have the authority to:

(1)  Draft, administer and furnish reporting forms to the judicial district indigent defender boards, which request detailed information of the district board's workload, resources, employees, and expenditures for the previous fiscal year based on the uniform definition of a "case" as defined in R.S. 15:145.1(C).

(2)  Collect, prepare and submit an annual report to the legislative auditor.

(3)  Contract with a national nonprofit entity versed in indigent defense data collection and research.

F.(1)  The board shall have authority by rule, to develop and maintain such programs as necessary to implement the guidelines for supplemental assistance.

(2)  In cases where a sentence of death has been imposed, the board shall promptly cause counsel to be enrolled to represent the defendant.  The board shall adopt rules and retain only such staff counsel or other counsel, who will work under the supervision of the board, as are necessary to provide counsel to represent capital defendants on direct appeal to the Supreme Court of Louisiana and to seek post-conviction relief if appropriate in state and federal court.  The board shall also adopt rules regarding the provision of reasonably necessary services associated with the proceedings, including investigative, expert, and other services.  The rules shall require that funds to pay for such reasonably necessary services shall be provided only upon a written showing specifically identifying the nature of the services, the cost of such services, and the need for such services with mandatory guidelines for compensation and litigation expense maximums.  The board may seek funding as is available under federal law or from other public and private sources to cover the costs of providing representation in connection with applications for post-conviction relief filed in state and federal court.

(3)  Staff counsel, or other counsel, who represented convicted capital defendants in state court proceedings may, if authorized by the board, accept appointments from federal court to represent those defendants, but only if compensation is provided by funds as directed by the appointing federal court.  Such funds shall remain subject to the use of the board and may be used for paying the costs of such representation.  No state-appropriated funds shall be expended for the representation of capital defendants in federal court.

G.  The board shall adopt its rules pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, and the rules shall be only those necessary to carry out the enumerated powers granted to the board by R.S. 15:151 through 151.4.

H.  The board shall have the authority to administer the DNA Testing Post-Conviction Relief for Indigents fund as required under the provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure Article 926.1.

I.  The board shall prepare and submit to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget on or before March first of each year an annual financial report which outlines the expenditures of local, state, and federal funds for the previous calendar year.

J.  The board may provide supplemental funds, when appropriated by the legislature for that purpose or transferred by the Department of Social Services pursuant to R.S. 46:460.21, to judicial district indigent defender boards to provide counsel to indigent parents in child protection proceedings pursuant to Children's Code Articles 608, 643, 1016, and 1023.

Acts 1997, No. 1361, §1, eff. Dec. 31, 1997; Acts 1999, No. 1012, §1; Acts 2001, No. 1020, §2; Acts 2005, No. 343, §1; Acts 2006, No. 271, §2.