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S1306................................................by JUDICIARY AND RULES
PUBLIC DEFENDERS - Amends existing law to provide that the administrative
judge of the county's judicial district or his designee shall appoint the
committee of lawyers to designate the panel from which the public defender
or juvenile public defender shall be chosen.
01/20 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/21 Rpt prt - to Jud
02/02 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/03 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/04 3rd rdg - PASSED - 32-0-3
AYES--Andreason, Boatright, Branch, Bunderson, Burtenshaw, Cameron,
Crow, Danielson, Darrington, Deide, Dunklin, Frasure, Geddes, Hansen,
Hawkins, Ingram, Ipsen, Keough, King, Lee, McLaughlin, Noh, Parry,
Richardson, Riggs, Risch, Sandy, Schroeder, Sorensen, Thorne,
Wheeler, Whitworth
NAYS--None
Absent and excused--Stennett, Sweeney, Twiggs
Floor Sponsor - Riggs
Title apvd - to House
02/05 House intro - 1st rdg - to Jud
03/10 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/11 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/12 3rd rdg - PASSED - 66-0-4
AYES -- Alltus, Barraclough, Barrett, Bell, Bieter, Bivens,
Black(15), Black(23), Boe, Bruneel, Callister, Campbell, Chase,
Clark, Crane, Cuddy, Deal, Denney, Ellsworth, Field(13), Field(20),
Gagner, Geddes, Gould, Hadley, Hansen, Henbest, Hornbeck, Jaquet,
Jones(22), Jones(20), Judd, Kellogg, Kendell, Kjellander, Kunz, Lake,
Linford, Loertscher, Mader, Marley, McKague, Meyer, Miller,
Mortensen, Newcomb, Pischner, Pomeroy, Reynolds, Richman, Ridinger,
Robison, Sali, Schaefer, Stevenson, Stoicheff, Stone, Stubbs, Taylor,
Tilman, Tippets, Trail, Watson, Wheeler, Wood, Zimmermann
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- Crow, Jones(9), Kempton, Mr Speaker
Floor Sponsor - Clark
Title apvd - to Senate
03/13 To enrol
03/16 Rpt enrol - Pres signed
Sp signed
03/17 To Governor
03/18 Governor signed
Session Law Chapter 72
Effective: 07/01/98
S1306|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-fourth Legislature Second Regular Session - 1998IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1306 BY JUDICIARY AND RULES COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO PUBLIC DEFENDERS; AMENDING SECTION 19-860, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE 3 THAT THE ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE OF THE COUNTY'S JUDICIAL DISTRICT OR HIS 4 DESIGNEE SHALL APPOINT THE COMMITTEE OF LAWYERS WHO ARE TO DESIGNATE THE 5 PANEL FROM WHICH THE PUBLIC DEFENDER OR JUVENILE PUBLIC DEFENDER SHALL BE 6 CHOSEN. 7 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 8 SECTION 1. That Section 19-860, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 9 amended to read as follows: 10 19-860. PUBLIC DEFENDER -- TERM -- COMPENSATION -- APPOINTMENT -- QUALI- 11 FICATIONS -- COURT APPOINTED ATTORNEYS -- COMPENSATION. (a) If the board of 12 county commissioners of a county elects to establish and maintain an office of 13 public defender and/or juvenile public defender, the board shall: 14 (1) Prescribe the qualifications of such public defender, his term of 15 office (which may not be less than two (2) years), and his rate of annual 16 compensation, and, if so desired by the board, a rate of compensation for 17 extraordinary services not recurring on a regular basis. So far as is pos- 18 sible, the compensation paid to such public defender shall not be less 19 than the compensation paid to the county prosecutor for that portion of 20 his practice devoted to criminal law. 21 (2) Provide for the establishment, maintenance and support of his office. 22 The board of county commissioners shall appoint a public defender and/or 23 juvenile public defender from a panel of not more than five (5) and not 24 fewer than three (3) persons (if that many are available) designated by a 25 committee of lawyers appointed by thesenior district judge having26resident chambers within the county, or if there be no resident district27judge, then by the senior districtadministrative 28 judge of the judicial district encompassing the county or his desig- 29 nee . To be a candidate, a person must be licensed to practice law 30 in this state and must be competent to counsel and defend a person charged 31 with a crime. During his incumbency, such public defender may engage in 32 the practice of civil law and criminal law other than in the discharge of 33 the duties of his office, unless he is prohibited from doing so by the 34 board of county commissioners. 35 (b) If a court before whom a person appears upon a formal charge assigns 36 an attorney other than a public defender to represent a needy person, the 37 appropriate district court, upon application, shall prescribe a reasonable 38 rate of compensation for his services and shall determine the direct expenses 39 necessary to representation for which he should be reimbursed. The county 40 shall pay the attorney the amounts so prescribed. The attorney shall be com- 41 pensated for his services with regard to the complexity of the issues, the 42 time involved, and other relevant considerations.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS07493
This bill is one or a series of bills that the
Justices of the Supreme Court transmitted to the Governor
in their annual "defects in the laws" report under Art. 5,
Sec. 25 of the Idaho Constitution.
Section 19-860, Idaho Code, covers the appointment of a
county public defender who represents indigent criminal
defendants by the board of county commissioners. This
statute provides, among other things, that a "senior judge"
in the judicial district is to appoint a committee of
lawyers to review public defender candidates for nomination
to the county commissioners.
However, the office of "senior judge" has been
replaced an "administrative judge" who under the current
law carries out the administrative responsibilities for a
judicial district. This bill substitutes the administrative
judge or designee for the archaic reference to a senior
judge.
FISCAL NOTE
This bill will not have an impact on state or local
funds
Contact Person:
Patricia Tobias
Administrative Director ofthe Courts
Idaho Supreme Court
( 2 0 8 ) 3 34 - 2246
Statement or Purpose/Fiscal Note
S 1306