HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-017M111 4140113i WE WHOM 11211111RIVI
WHEREAS, RCW 10,101.030 requires the City of Arlington ("City") to adopt standards
Cor the delivery of Public Defense Services; and
WHEREAS, the Washington State Bar Association has promulgated standards last revised
�n 2011 which state the objective of the promulgated standards as:
The objective of these guidelines is to alert the attorney to the course of action
that may be necessary, advisable, or appropriate, and thereby assist the attorney
in deciding upon the particular actions that must be taken in a case to assure that
the client receives the best representation possible;
IT'HEREAS, the City of Arlington has previously incorporated standards for the delivem
of Public Defense Services in its contracts for public defense services and has contracted with
Public Defense firm in anticipation of the eventual adoption of amendments to the Washingt
Court Rules regarding indigent defense services; and I
WHEREAS, the Washington Supreme Court by Order No. 25 700-A- 1004 has adopted ne
standards for indigent defense and a certificate of compliance; and i
WFA I I 104 WWI R lei Q I LIJ I W, I I [go I 1• .3 10141 stral 1611KII a I I IMMIN I I VMS I EM MORE 6MIXTA to We
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARLINGTON, WASHINGTON, HEREBY
RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The following public defense standards are hereby adopted,
STATEMENT OF INTENT AND INTERPRETATION: These standards are adopted in
order to comply with the requirements of Washington Statute and the rules established by the
Washington State Supreme Court. The provisions of these standards shall be broadly and liberally
construed to achieve their stated purpose, which is to provide standards which afford "quality
representation" in the provision of public defense to indigent criminal defendants. "Quality
representation" describes the minimum level of attention, care, and skill that Washington citizens
would expect of their State's criminal justice system. These standards may be amended from time
to time to reflect changes in the rules established by the Washington State Supreme Court,
guidance offered by the Washington State Bar Association, or interpretations of the rules and
standards by the Washington courts.
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1.1 Public Defense Services shall be provided to all clients in 2
professional, skilled manner consistent with the minimum standards set forth by the American
Bar Association, the Washington State Bar Association, the Rules of Professional Conduct, case
law and applicable court rules defining the duties of counsel and the rights of defendants in
criminal cases. The Public Defender's primary and most fundamental responsibility is to promote
and protect the interests of the client.
1.2 Public Defense shall be provided to indigent clients whose
eligibility has been determined by the City of Arlington through an established screening
process.
1.3 All Public Defenders providing services by contract shall quarterly
certify their compliance with the standards for indigent defense by filing a Certification of
Compliance as required by CrR 3. 1, CrRLJ 3. 1, and JuCR 9.2. Such forms shall be filed with the
Marysville Municipal Court. Copies of each Public Defender's certification shall be provided to
the City.
1.4 Non -Discrimination. The Public Defender shall comply with all
federal, state and local non-discrimination laws or ordinances. The duty of nondiscrimination
relates not only to the provision of services by the Public Defender to the clients, but also with
respect to the hiring and employment practices of the Public Defender Contractor.
2.1 Every Public Defender performing services under contract with t
City (herein "Public Defense" or "Public Defender") shall satisfy the minimum requirements
practicing law in the State of Washington as determined by the Washington State Supreme Co
and possess a license to practice law in the State. Interns may assist in the provision of servic
so long as such interns comply with APR 9, and are trained and supervised by contract Pub
Defenders. I
2.2 Public Defenders and Rule 9 interns (herein "intern" or "interns")
performing services under contract shall:
2.2.1 be familiar with the statutes, court rules, constitutional
provisions, and case law relevant to the practice area; and
2.2.2 be familiar with the Washington Rules of Professional
Conduct (WRPC); and
2.2.3 be familiar with the Performance Guidelines for Crimin
Defense Representation approved by the Washington State Bar Association; and i
2.2A be familiar with the consequences of a conviction
or adjudication, including possible immigration consequences and the possibility of civil
commitment proceedings based upon a criminal conviction; and
2.2.5 be familiar with mental health issues and be able to identify
the need to obtain expert services; and
2.2.6 complete seven (7) hours of continuing legal education
within each calendar year in courses related to public defense practice.
2.3 The City Attorney, City Prosecutor, Chief of Police and law
enforcement personnel shall not participate in the selection and evaluation process leading to
the recommendation of a contract for Public Defense Services. Nothing herein shall be
interpreted to prohibit the City Attorney, City Prosecutor or Chief of Police from performing the
normal functions of his/her office, including by way of illustration, the drafting of contracts,
,,o,rdinances and resolutions.
2.4 In addition to required continuing legal education (CLE) trainin
in the event that seven (7) or more attorneys perform services to the City by the same contra
and in the same entity, the contract for services shall provide for in-house training. Proposa 'I
made in response to requests for proposals for pursuit of a contract for Public Defense Servic.
r
shall provide information regarding in-house training, the development of manuals to info I
new attorneys of the rules and procedures of the Marysville Municipal Court and encourage t
opportunity to attend courses that foster trial advocacy skills. The Public Defender is encourag
to obtain and review professional publications land other media relating to criminal defense.
3. ADMINISTRATION, SUPPORT SERVICES AND INFRA-
STRUCTURE.
3.1 Contracts for services and proposals submitted in pursu t of si�cm
contracts shall require the Public Defender to provide for or include adequate administratn"-
support, including but not limited to: I
Travel, telephones, law library and/or electronic resear
capabilities, financial accounting, case management systems, computers, word processiJ.
equipment and software, office space and supplies. Proposals for contracts shall be evaluat
to address the training of attorneys and staff (see Section 2 above) and provide for adequa
staffing and other costs associated with the day to day management of a law office. I]
3.1.2 Private offices and/or conference rooms shall be availab
which allow the maintenance of confidentiality. A telephone system, internet access and post
address shall be provided by Public Defender.
3.2 The Public Defender shall provide under the contract for adequat
staffing. An adequate staff includes provision for legal assistance, accounting services, ca
management services and/or programs, and access, when needed, to the services of a soci
worker, mental health professional and translating services. 1�
RESOLUTION NO. 2014-017 3
4.1 Contracts and proposals to contract with the City for Public
11efense Services shall include a provision for a case reporting system and information
management system. Such systems shall have the capability to provide monthly reports to the
City and to the Office of Court Administration regarding the caseloads generated under the
contract for each attorney and intern providing services under the contract.
9• f
4.2.1 The Mayor shall designate a contact point for complaints
regarding the provision of services by the Public Defender.
4.2.2 Public Defender Service Providers shall first be afforded an
opportunity to resolve any complaint.
4.2.3 Complaints regarding the provision of services under t
contract, or regarding a violation of any of these standards shall be investigated by the Cil
Administrator provided, however, that any complaint regarding trial strategy or any other matt
which could breach confidentiality shall be referred to the Washington State Bar Associ ation
the presiding judge of the Marysville Municipal Court. Nothing in this section or in the
standards should be interpreted to require the Public Defender or any indigent defendant•
breach any duty of confidentiality, including, but not limited to trial strategy.
5.1 The caseload of the Public Defender shall consist of misdemeanors
and RALJ appeals to Superior Court. A case is defined as the filing of a document with the
Court naming a person as a defendant or respondent, to which an attorney is appointed in
order to provide representation. When the Marysville Municipal Court reviews certification by
a Public Defender, the City respectfully requests that the following standards be employed. If
the Court, in its discretion, determines that a different standard should apply, the City requests
that it be notified so that these standards may, when appropriate, be revised.
5.2 Effective January 1, 2015, the caseload for the Public Defender
should not exceed four hundred (400) cases per year, determined in accordance with the ca
count methodology established below.
FlUrs"re M,
5.2.1.1 The Public Defender will receive no credit for a
misdemeanor case when the court dismisses the case upon the motion of the prosecuting
attorney before any legal service has been performed. Any case in which the Public Defender's
duty is limited to explaining to the individual defendant the implication of any action by the
City Attorney to reduce a criminal matter to a civil infraction, bail forfeiture or dismissal, shall
not be counted as a case assignment to the Public Defender's office. The Public Defender shall
RESOLUTION NO. 2014-017 12
receive no work for credit on cases which are substantively identified as conflicts, with the
his own expense or through a request to the court, or for other extraordinary circumstances
approved by f but • -a to, information or • the Public
Defender could not have reasonably known or discovered at the time of the initial conflicts
5.2.1.2 Each pre-trial • -/ only once,
irrespectiveof r -•uent reappointment pursuant to when a client fails to .rr
The case will be counted at the time of first appointment. In the event a defendant has been
[�,reviously represented by a Public Defender and that case was previously counted when the case
was in s not be -• againdefendant FTA's at a post -
conviction
subsequently reappointed to the Public Defender will be counted again; however, this will occur
*nly once, no matter how many times a defendant FTA's and the Public Defender is reappointed
when the case is in post-convictionbe counted only once.
5.2.1.3 A criminal matter shall be defined as one
case forbilling,r • • no • a:. . . f : • • i
all the charges arise out of the same incident. Any additional charges filed against the sal
defendant, arising out of a separate incident, shall be counted by the Public Defender as a n
5.2.1.4 If the Public Defender is required to attend
appearance calendar, the Public Defender shall count such attendance at a minimum, as a cas -
regardless of whether he or she is actually appointed to represent a client. If appointed, a ca.]
count shall be determined as provided above.
5.3 The caseload limit for approved interns shall be twenty-five
percent (25%) of those established by these policies.
5.4 - request forqualifications process forselection of ' {
Defender and Public Defender Counsel shall strive to obtain a Public Defender whose experien
• training is sufficient to comport with the caseload assumptions and credits assigne
weighted
OLUTION NO.1 1
investigation, legal research and writing, use of experts, and/or social workers or other
expenditure of time and resources,
5.6 If a Public Defender or assigned counsel is carrying a caseload
consisting of cases performed under contract with the City, as well as other criminal cases from
other jurisdictions, including a mixed caseload of felonies and misdemeanors, these standards
shall be adjusted proportionally to determine a full caseload. If the contract or assigned counsel
also maintains a private law practice, the caseload shall be based upon the percentage of time
that the lawyer devotes to public defense with the City,
5.7 The monthly reports to be provided by the Public Defender shil
identify the number of cases assigned, the case count year-to-date, and cases which the Public
Defender has been assigned a higher case count, I
6. COMPENSATION. The City of Arlington is a public agen
whose revenues and resources are limited by statute, the constitution, and our local econom
The City has an obligation to obtain quality legal representation to indigent defendants at
reasonable price that takes into consideration the resources of the City, and the needs of i
citizens. Within those inherent limitations, the Public Defense Services afforded by contra
shall ensure that public defense attorneys and staff are compensated at a rate commensura.1
with their training and experience. For conflict and other assigned counsel, reasonab -
compensation shall also be provided. In each case, compensation shall reflect the time a, labor required to be spent by the attorney and the degree of professional experience demand,
by the assigned caseload. Due to the limited jurisdiction of the municipal/di strict cou,
misdemeanors and RALJ misdemeanor appeals pursuant to Superior Court constitute t
assigned caseload under contract. Contracted and assigned counsel shall be compensated
reasonable out of pocket expenses.
6.1 The contract shall provide for extraordinary compensation in the
c-vent that a particular case requires an extraordinary amount of time and preparation. The
conditions under extraordinary fees may be charged will be defined within any contract,
6.2 Attorneys with a conflict of interest shall not be required to
compensate the new, substituted attorney under the contract. Such arrangements are prohibited
by ethical considerations.
6.3 Among the reasonable expenses to be covered by the contract
include expert witnesses, investigative costs, and the administrative overhead costs of
paraprofessionals, including, as needed, mental health professionals, social workers, and
translators.
6.4 The City's contract with assigned or Conflict Counsel may
provide for payment by voucher. Assigned or Conflict Counsel shall be paid by the case upon
completion. The Public Defender Contract shall provide that counsel be paid monthly without
cegard to the number of cases closed based upon the contract's estimation of cases to b?
assigned during any calendar period. In the event that the case limits are exceeded, the contract
shall provide for additional compensation to the Public Defender contractor, including but not
limited to the additional cases assigned as well as any impact which the additional case
RESOLUTION NO. "0 14-017
!=Y I -�I I Z
assignments may have upon administrative and attorney overhead of the Public Defender. F
example, if the assignment of additional cases requires the Public Defender to add staff
increase training, administrative and other overhead charges, the City shall enter into go
faith negotiation with the Public Defender to provide for reasonable compensation that assur
the provision of quality representation to indigent defendants. I
7.1 The Public Defense Contract shall provide reasonab AM
compensation for an expert of the Public Defender's choosing. No appointment shall be from
pre -approved list designated by the City Attorney, the City Prosecutor, or other City officials. I
7.2 The services of expert witnesses will be provided under contract
when approved by the Court through ex parte motion. The expert will be paid directly by the
City.
7.3 Investigative services shall be employed as appropriate. T
investigator shall have appropriate training and experience in the area of criminal defense a
investigations relating to criminal matters. Normally, a ratio of one investigator to fo
attorneys shall be provided. Contracts for Public Defense Services shall include investigati
services as a part of reimbursed overhead included in the contract compensation. I
8.1 Termination of the contract shall occur only for "•good cause."
Good cause shall include the failure of the contract Public Defender to render adequate
representation to clients, the willful disregard of the rights and best interests of the client, and
the willful disregard of these standards. Termination may also occur for violation of the express
terms of the contract, provided, however, that the Public Defender shall be provided reasonable
opportunity, following notice, to cure any technical contract violations that do not impair the
provision of quality representation to the indigent client.
8.2 Removal by the Court of counsel from representation normal
�hould not occur over the objection of the attorney and the client.
M91"IM
9.1 The selection process for a Public Defender shall be by review of
names and experience levels of the attorneys who will actually provide services, to ensure that
they meet minimum qualifications. The contract shall prohibit sub -contracting without the
express written consent of the City. The City will endeavor to contract directly with the service
[•,roviders.
9.2 In the event of conflict or removal of the Public Defender,
Conflict Counsel shall be available, either through a joint contract with the Public Defender and
Conflict Counsel, by separate contract with Conflict Counsel or by court appointment. In flyi
RESOLUTION NO. 2014-017 7
event that alternative or Conflict Counsel is required to be assigned, the Public
Defender shall bear no part of the costs associated with the appointment of an alternative or
Conflict Counsel. The contract should address the procedures for continuing representation of
clients upon conclusion of the agreement.
9.3 Conflict Counsel shall adhere to the standards established by this
resolution, including but not limited to, an evaluation of the overall case count annually by
Conflict Counsel under the procedures set forth in this agreement.
g= �
9.4.1 by the Marysville Municipal Court upon the request of th*
Public Defender in conjunction with assigned City staff;
9.4.2 in accordance with the terms of a joint contract with
the Public Defender and Conflict Counsel, or
10. SUPERVISION, MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF
ATTORNEYS.
Candidates for Public Defender services are encouraged, but not required, to
comply with the provisions of Standard 10 and 11 as established by the Washington Bar
Association, Standards for Indigent Defense Services, approved June 3, 2011. The City
recognizes that smaller firms providing Public Defense Services may provide quality service
through experienced practitioners. Larger contracting agencies should make provision for
supervision, monitoring and evaluation in accordance with Bar Association effort to meet
Standards 10 and 11, or provide alternative methods for the supervision, monitoring and
evaluation of attorneys which achieve substantially the same goals shall be given for effective
superon, monitoring and evaluation.
[IF
As the rules established by the Washington State Supreme Court are applied arl
interpreted by the courts and, when appropriate, the Bar Association and other administrati
agencies, the City states its intent to review and modify these standards. I
Sectiml 3. The City Clerk is directed to provide a certified copy of the
Standards to the Presiding Judge of the Marysville Municipal Court.
01 W a 01611
The provisions of this resolution shall be effective upon adoption, except as
expressly provided herein.
RESOLUTION NO. 2014-017 12
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