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Regular Session, 2013
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 99
BY SENATOR CROWE
PUBLIC DEFENDER. Requests the Louisiana Public Defender Board to study whether the
statewide public defender system should be privatized via a system of contract employment.
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON1
To urge and request that the Louisiana Public Defender Board study the feasibility,2
desirability, and practicality of delivering a statewide public defender system through3
an exclusively contract system.4
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Public Defender Board was created in 2007 to provide5
for the supervision, administration, and delivery of a statewide public defender system that6
must deliver uniform public defender services in all courts of this state, in accordance with7
the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article I,8
Section 13 of the Constitution of Louisiana; and 9
WHEREAS, in pursuit of equal justice, the board advocates for clients, supports10
practitioners, and protects the public by continually improving the services guaranteed by11
the constitutional right to counsel; and12
WHEREAS, the method of delivery of public defender services in each judicial13
district shall be approved by the board to the extent that the method is meeting or is able to14
meet the performance standards and guidelines of the board, and the board may change the15
method of delivery in order to ensure compliance with best practices reflected in the16
performance standards and guidelines; and17
WHEREAS, at present, Louisiana has three full-time staff public defender offices;18 SCR NO. 99
SLS 13RS-2127 ORIGINAL
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five part-time staff offices; five "hybrid system" offices that are transitioning to full-time1
systems and use a combination of contract or part-time public defenders as well as some full-2
time attorneys; and the remainder utilizing contract employment; and3
WHEREAS, the opinion has been expressed by some involved in the public defender4
system that costs could be controlled and limited financial resources better utilized by5
transitioning to a system by which all public defender offices would operate on a contract6
employment basis, thereby eliminating substantial costs associated with offices employing7
full-time staff.8
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby9
urge and request the Louisiana Public Defender Board to study the feasibility, desirability,10
and practicality of delivering a statewide public defender system through an exclusively11
contract employment system, and to report its findings to the legislature not later than12
January 10, 2014.13
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the14
Louisiana Public Defender Board and the state public defender.15
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Alden A. Clement, Jr.
DIGEST
Crowe SCR No. 99
Requests the La. Public Defender Bd. to study whether the statewide public defender system
should be privatized via a system of exclusively contract employment and report its findings
to the legislature by January 10, 2014.