Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB260 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R1945 JRH-F
2	2	By: Ellis S.B. No. 260
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to caseloads for attorneys who are appointed to represent
8	8	indigent defendants in criminal cases.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Articles 26.04(b), (d), (e), and (j), Code of
11	11	Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
12	12	(b) Procedures adopted under Subsection (a) shall:
13	13	(1) authorize only the judges of the county courts,
14	14	statutory county courts, and district courts trying criminal cases
15	15	in the county, or the judges' designee, to appoint counsel for
16	16	indigent defendants in the county;
17	17	(2) apply to each appointment of counsel made by a
18	18	judge or the judges' designee in the county;
19	19	(3) ensure that each indigent defendant in the county
20	20	who is charged with a misdemeanor punishable by confinement or with
21	21	a felony and who appears in court without counsel has an opportunity
22	22	to confer with appointed counsel before the commencement of
23	23	judicial proceedings;
24	24	(4) require appointments for defendants in capital
25	25	cases in which the death penalty is sought to comply with any
26	26	applicable requirements under Articles 11.071 and 26.052;
27	27	(5) ensure that each attorney appointed from a public
28	28	appointment list to represent an indigent defendant perform the
29	29	attorney's duty owed to the defendant in accordance with the
30	30	adopted procedures, the requirements of this code, and applicable
31	31	rules of ethics; [and]
32	32	(6) ensure that appointments are allocated among
33	33	qualified attorneys in a manner that is fair, neutral, and
34	34	nondiscriminatory; and
35	35	(7) ensure that an appointment will not result in the
36	36	applicable attorney having a caseload that is larger than the
37	37	maximum allowable caseload established under Subsection (e).
38	38	(d) A public appointment list from which an attorney is
39	39	appointed as required by Subsection (a) shall contain the names of
40	40	qualified attorneys, each of whom:
41	41	(1) applies to be included on the list;
42	42	(2) meets the objective qualifications specified by
43	43	the judges under Subsection (e);
44	44	(3) meets any applicable qualifications specified by
45	45	the Texas Indigent Defense Commission; [and]
46	46	(4) is approved by a majority of the judges who
47	47	established the appointment list under Subsection (e); and
48	48	(5) annually provides information necessary to
49	49	establish that the attorney is able to accept an appointment under
50	50	the program without exceeding the attorney's maximum allowable
51	51	caseload specified by the judges under Subsection (e).
52	52	(e) In a county in which a court is required under
53	53	Subsection (a) to appoint an attorney from a public appointment
54	54	list:
55	55	(1) the judges of the county courts and statutory
56	56	county courts trying misdemeanor cases in the county, by formal
57	57	action:
58	58	(A) shall:
59	59	(i) establish a public appointment list of
60	60	attorneys qualified to provide representation in the county in
61	61	misdemeanor cases punishable by confinement; [and]
62	62	(ii) specify the objective qualifications
63	63	necessary for an attorney to be included on the list; and
64	64	(iii) establish a maximum allowable
65	65	caseload for a qualified attorney that, considering the attorney's
66	66	total caseload including appointments made under this article,
67	67	appointments made under Title 3, Family Code, and other work,
68	68	ensures that the defendant will be diligently represented; and
69	69	(B) may establish, if determined by the judges to
70	70	be appropriate, more than one appointment list graduated according
71	71	to the degree of seriousness of the offense, the attorneys'
72	72	qualifications, and whether representation will be provided in
73	73	trial court proceedings, appellate proceedings, or both; and
74	74	(2) the judges of the district courts trying felony
75	75	cases in the county, by formal action:
76	76	(A) shall:
77	77	(i) establish a public appointment list of
78	78	attorneys qualified to provide representation in felony cases in
79	79	the county; [and]
80	80	(ii) specify the objective qualifications
81	81	necessary for an attorney to be included on the list; and
82	82	(iii) establish a maximum allowable
83	83	caseload for a qualified attorney that, considering the attorney's
84	84	total caseload including appointments made under this article,
85	85	appointments made under Title 3, Family Code, and other work,
86	86	ensures that the defendant will be diligently represented; and
87	87	(B) may establish, if determined by the judges to
88	88	be appropriate, more than one appointment list graduated according
89	89	to the degree of seriousness of the offense, the attorneys'
90	90	qualifications, and whether representation will be provided in
91	91	trial court proceedings, appellate proceedings, or both.
92	92	(j) An attorney appointed under this article shall:
93	93	(1) make every reasonable effort to contact the
94	94	defendant not later than the end of the first working day after the
95	95	date on which the attorney is appointed and to interview the
96	96	defendant as soon as practicable after the attorney is appointed;
97	97	(2) represent the defendant until charges are
98	98	dismissed, the defendant is acquitted, appeals are exhausted, or
99	99	the attorney is permitted or ordered by the court to withdraw as
100	100	counsel for the defendant after a finding of good cause is entered
101	101	on the record;
102	102	(3) with respect to a defendant not represented by
103	103	other counsel, before withdrawing as counsel for the defendant
104	104	after a trial or the entry of a plea of guilty:
105	105	(A) advise the defendant of the defendant's right
106	106	to file a motion for new trial and a notice of appeal;
107	107	(B) if the defendant wishes to pursue either or
108	108	both remedies described by Paragraph (A), assist the defendant in
109	109	requesting the prompt appointment of replacement counsel; and
110	110	(C) if replacement counsel is not appointed
111	111	promptly and the defendant wishes to pursue an appeal, file a timely
112	112	notice of appeal; and
113	113	(4) not later than October 1 [15] of each year and in
114	114	the form and manner [on a form] prescribed by the Texas Indigent
115	115	Defense Commission, submit to the county information that describes
116	116	the attorney's caseload for the most recent state fiscal year,
117	117	including [, for the preceding fiscal year, that describes the
118	118	percentage of the attorney's practice time that was dedicated to
119	119	work based on] appointments accepted in the county under this
120	120	article, appointments accepted in the county under [and] Title 3,
121	121	Family Code, and other work.
122	122	SECTION 2. Section 79.036(a-1), Government Code, is amended
123	123	to read as follows:
124	124	(a-1) Not later than November 1 of each year and in the form
125	125	and manner prescribed by the commission, each county shall prepare
126	126	and provide to the commission information that describes for the
127	127	preceding fiscal year the number of appointments under Article
128	128	26.04, Code of Criminal Procedure, and Title 3, Family Code, made to
129	129	each attorney accepting appointments in the county, and information
130	130	provided to the county by [those] attorneys under Article
131	131	26.04(j)(4), Code of Criminal Procedure.
132	132	SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
133	133	to a criminal proceeding that commences on or after the effective
134	134	date of this Act. A criminal proceeding that commences before the
135	135	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the
136	136	proceeding commenced, and the former law is continued in effect for
137	137	that purpose.
138	138	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect January 1, 2016.