Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2525 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1	By: Coleman (Senate Sponsor - Seliger) H.B. No. 2525
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 18, 2015;
3	3	May 19, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on
4	4	Administration; May 24, 2015, reported favorably by the following
5	5	vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 24, 2015, sent to printer.)
6	6	Click here to see the committee vote
7	7
8	8
9	9	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	10	AN ACT
11	11	relating to the appointment of counsel to represent indigent
12	12	defendants in criminal cases.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Article 1.051, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
15	15	amended by amending Subsections (c), (i), and (k) and adding
16	16	Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
17	17	(c) An indigent defendant is entitled to have an attorney
18	18	appointed to represent him in any adversary judicial proceeding
19	19	that may result in punishment by confinement and in any other
20	20	criminal proceeding if the court concludes that the interests of
21	21	justice require representation. Subject to Subsection (c-1)
22	22	[Except as otherwise provided by this subsection], if an indigent
23	23	defendant is entitled to and requests appointed counsel and if
24	24	adversarial judicial proceedings have been initiated against the
25	25	defendant, a court or the courts' designee authorized under Article
26	26	26.04 to appoint counsel for indigent defendants in the county in
27	27	which the defendant is arrested shall appoint counsel as soon as
28	28	possible, but not later than:
29	29	(1) the end of the third working day after the date on
30	30	which the court or the courts' designee receives the defendant's
31	31	request for appointment of counsel, if the defendant is arrested in
32	32	a county with a population of less than 250,000; or
33	33	(2) [. In a county with a population of 250,000 or
34	34	more, the court or the courts' designee shall appoint counsel as
35	35	required by this subsection as soon as possible, but not later than]
36	36	the end of the first working day after the date on which the court or
37	37	the courts' designee receives the defendant's request for
38	38	appointment of counsel, if the defendant is arrested in a county
39	39	with a population of 250,000 or more.
40	40	(c-1) If an indigent defendant is arrested under a warrant
41	41	issued in a county other than the county in which the arrest was
42	42	made and the defendant is entitled to and requests appointed
43	43	counsel, a court or the courts' designee authorized under Article
44	44	26.04 to appoint counsel for indigent defendants in the county that
45	45	issued the warrant shall appoint counsel within the periods
46	46	prescribed by Subsection (c), regardless of whether the defendant
47	47	is present within the county issuing the warrant and even if
48	48	adversarial judicial proceedings have not yet been initiated
49	49	against the defendant in the county issuing the warrant. However,
50	50	if the defendant has not been transferred or released into the
51	51	custody of the county issuing the warrant before the 11th day after
52	52	the date of the arrest and if counsel has not otherwise been
53	53	appointed for the defendant in the arresting county under this
54	54	article, a court or the courts' designee authorized under Article
55	55	26.04 to appoint counsel for indigent defendants in the arresting
56	56	county immediately shall appoint counsel to represent the defendant
57	57	in any matter under Chapter 11 or 17, regardless of whether
58	58	adversarial judicial proceedings have been initiated against the
59	59	defendant in the arresting county. If counsel is appointed for the
60	60	defendant in the arresting county as required by this subsection,
61	61	the arresting county may seek from the county that issued the
62	62	warrant reimbursement for the actual costs paid by the arresting
63	63	county for the appointed counsel.
64	64	(i) Subject to Subsection (c-1) [Except as otherwise
65	65	provided by this subsection], with respect to a county with a
66	66	population of less than 250,000, if an indigent defendant is
67	67	entitled to and requests appointed counsel and if adversarial
68	68	judicial proceedings have not been initiated against the defendant,
69	69	a court or the courts' designee authorized under Article 26.04 to
70	70	appoint counsel for indigent defendants in the county in which the
71	71	defendant is arrested shall appoint counsel immediately following
72	72	the expiration of three working days after the date on which the
73	73	court or the courts' designee receives the defendant's request for
74	74	appointment of counsel. If adversarial judicial proceedings are
75	75	initiated against the defendant before the expiration of the three
76	76	working days, the court or the courts' designee shall appoint
77	77	counsel as provided by Subsection (c). Subject to Subsection
78	78	(c-1), in [In] a county with a population of 250,000 or more, the
79	79	court or the courts' designee shall appoint counsel as required by
80	80	this subsection immediately following the expiration of one working
81	81	day after the date on which the court or the courts' designee
82	82	receives the defendant's request for appointment of counsel. If
83	83	adversarial judicial proceedings are initiated against the
84	84	defendant before the expiration of the one working day, the court or
85	85	the courts' designee shall appoint counsel as provided by
86	86	Subsection (c).
87	87	(k) A court or the courts' designee may without unnecessary
88	88	delay appoint new counsel to represent an indigent defendant for
89	89	whom counsel is appointed under Subsection (c), (c-1), or (i) if:
90	90	(1) the defendant is subsequently charged in the case
91	91	with an offense different from the offense with which the defendant
92	92	was initially charged; and
93	93	(2) good cause to appoint new counsel is stated on the
94	94	record as required by Article 26.04(j)(2).
95	95	SECTION 2. Article 15.17(e), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
96	96	amended to read as follows:
97	97	(e) In each case in which a person arrested is taken before a
98	98	magistrate as required by Subsection (a) or Article 15.18(a), a
99	99	record shall be made of:
100	100	(1) the magistrate informing the person of the
101	101	person's right to request appointment of counsel;
102	102	(2) the magistrate asking the person whether the
103	103	person wants to request appointment of counsel; and
104	104	(3) whether the person requested appointment of
105	105	counsel.
106	106	SECTION 3. Article 15.18, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
107	107	amended by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
108	108	(a-1) If the arrested person is taken before a magistrate of
109	109	a county other than the county that issued the warrant, the
110	110	magistrate shall inform the person arrested of the procedures for
111	111	requesting appointment of counsel and ensure that reasonable
112	112	assistance in completing the necessary forms for requesting
113	113	appointment of counsel is provided to the person at the same time.
114	114	If the person requests the appointment of counsel, the magistrate
115	115	shall, without unnecessary delay but not later than 24 hours after
116	116	the person requested the appointment of counsel, transmit, or cause
117	117	to be transmitted, the necessary request forms to a court or the
118	118	courts' designee authorized under Article 26.04 to appoint counsel
119	119	in the county issuing the warrant.
120	120	SECTION 4. Article 26.04(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
121	121	amended to read as follows:
122	122	(a) The judges of the county courts, statutory county
123	123	courts, and district courts trying criminal cases in each county,
124	124	by local rule, shall adopt and publish written countywide
125	125	procedures for timely and fairly appointing counsel for an indigent
126	126	defendant in the county arrested for, charged with, or taking an
127	127	appeal from a conviction of a misdemeanor punishable by confinement
128	128	or a felony. The procedures must be consistent with this article
129	129	and Articles 1.051, 15.17, 15.18, 26.05, and 26.052. A court shall
130	130	appoint an attorney from a public appointment list using a system of
131	131	rotation, unless the court appoints an attorney under Subsection
132	132	(f), (f-1), (h), or (i). The court shall appoint attorneys from
133	133	among the next five names on the appointment list in the order in
134	134	which the attorneys' names appear on the list, unless the court
135	135	makes a finding of good cause on the record for appointing an
136	136	attorney out of order. An attorney who is not appointed in the
137	137	order in which the attorney's name appears on the list shall remain
138	138	next in order on the list.
139	139	SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act applies only
140	140	to a person who is arrested on or after the effective date of this
141	141	Act. A person arrested before the effective date of this Act is
142	142	governed by the law in effect on the date the person was arrested,
143	143	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
144	144	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
145	145	* * * * *