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Federal Defense Act |
| Local Rules of
Angelina County for the Timely and Fair Appointment of Counsel for
Indigent Defendants |
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Method
of Appointments |
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Attorney
Qualifications |
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Duties
of Appointed Counsel |
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Removal
from Appointment List |
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Counsel
Compensation |
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| I. METHOD OF APPOINTMENTS |
| A. Public Appointments List |
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The District and County
Courts at Law in Angelina County, Texas will maintain six Public
Appointment Lists of attorneys qualified to represent indigent defendants
as follows: |
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1. Trial
and Appellate Category A for first degree and second degree felony
offenses; |
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2. Trial
and Appellate Category B for third degree and state jail felony
offenses; |
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3. Trial
and Appellate Category C for all misdemeanors; |
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4. Capital
Trial Category for death penalty offenses and death penalty appeals;
and |
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5. Juvenile
Category |
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Attorneys
who desire to represent indigent persons shall file a sworn APPLICATION
TO BE PLACED ON PUBLIC APPOINTMENT LISTS FOR ANGELINA COUNTY
(attached hereto is Exhibit "A") with the Board of Judges
to have his/her name approved on one or more of the Public Appointment
Lists. Before January 1 of each year, the District Judges and County
Court at Law Judges shall meet and approve a list of eligible list
of attorneys for each List. A copy of each Public Appointment List
shall be posted in the Reception Area of respective Judge’s offices
and will be available to the public upon request. |
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B. Appointment of Counsel |
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1. At
the Magistrate’s Probable Cause hearing, each defendant shall be
provided the opportunity to request court-appointed counsel,
if indigent. When a defendant requests appointed counsel, the
magistrate may assist the defendant in completing the Attorney
Request Form, attached hereto as Exhibit "B,"
and the Questionnaire Under Oath Concerning Financial Resources,
attached hereto as Exhibit "C." The magistrate shall question
the defendant under oath regarding theirfinancial resources. |
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2. Upon
determination of indigence, the magistrate shall appoint an attorney
from the appropriate Public Appointment List using a system of rotation.
The magistrate shall appoint the attorney from the names on the
Public Appointment List in the order in which the attorney’s name
appears on the List, unless the Court makes a finding of good cause
on the record for appointing an attorney out of order. Where the
defendant has both a felony and misdemeanor charges, the magistrate
shall appoint an attorney from the List for the most serious offense.
The magistrate shall sign an Order Appointing Counsel, attached
hereto as Exhibit "D." |
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3. The magistrate shall notify
the attorney of the appointment by the most expeditious means available,
and provide counsel with a copy of the Order Appointing Counsel
and the last known location of the defendant. If the attorney does
not accept the appointment, the attorney shall immediately advise
the magistrate or trial Court and the above rotation process shall
be repeated. |
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II. QUALIFICATIONS
OF APPOINTED ATTORNEYS |
| A. Trial and Appellate Category
A |
| 1. A separate master
list will be maintained of attorneys who request and are approved
for appointment to first degree and second degree felony cases. |
| 2. All attorneys who request
appointments in this category must (a) have been licensed to practice
law in Texas for at least three years, (b) have completed at least
6 hours of Criminal Law CLE (during the 12 months prior to the appointment),
and (c) have tried to verdict as 1st chair at least 3 felony jury
trials. |
| 3. CLE qualifications
are waived for the initial plan year of 2002. |
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| B. Trial and Appellate Category
B |
| 1. A separate master
list will be maintained of attorneys who request and are approved
for appointment to third degree and state jail felony cases. |
| 2. All attorneys who request
appointments in this category must (a) have been licensed to practice
law in Texas for at least one year, (b) have prior to the appointment),
and (c) have tried to verdict as 1st chair at least. |
| 3. Class "B" or higher
misdemeanor jury trials. |
| 3. CLE qualifications are waived
for the initial plan year of 2002. |
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| C. Trial and Appellate Category
C |
| 1. A separate master
list will be maintained of attorneys who request and are approved
for appointment to all misdemeanor cases. |
| 2. All attorneys who request
appointments in this category must be licensed to practice law in
Texas. |
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| D. Capital Trial Category |
| 1. A separate master list will
be maintained of attorneys who request and are approved for appointment
in capital murder cases. To be approved, an attorney must meet the
experience requirements established by the Administrative Judge
for the Second Administrative Judicial Region for appointment to
capital murder cases. |
| 2. Two attorneys will be appointed
in each capital case. Only lead counsel is required to meet the
above qualifications. Co-counsel must meet at least the requirements
of Trial Category A. Additionally, co-counsel must have tried to
verdict at least five 1st or 2nd degree felony jury cases. |
| 3. An attorney may not be appointed
to more than two capital murder cases per calendar year, except
for good cause found by the trial Court. |
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| E. Capital Appellate Category |
| 1. A separate master list will
be maintained of attorneys who request and are approved for appointments
in the appeal of capital murder cases. |
| 2. All attorneys who request
appointments in this category must meet the experience requirements
established for the Capital Trial Category. |
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III. DUTIES OF APPOINTED COUNSEL |
| Appointed Counsel shall make
every reasonable effort to contact their client not later than the
end of the first working day after the date on which the attorney
is appointed, and shall interview the client as soon as practicable
after the attorney is appointed. The Court may replace an attorney
who violates this requirement. |
| Appointed Counsel shall maintain
a place of business with a phone which is answered by a receptionist
or answering service from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 1:00
p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday (except for County holidays
as approved by the Angelina County Commissioners’ Court). Said receptionist
and answering service must have the capability to promptly locate
the attorney to notify the attorney of appointment and hearing settings.
Appointed Counsel shall maintain a FAX number to which faxes can
be received 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These phone and FAX
numbers shall be included in the attorneys Application To Be Placed
On Public Appointment List and shall be the official numbers which
will be utilized by Court personnel to notify counsel of their appointment
and of hearing settings. Any change in these numbers shall be given
in writing to each County and District Court prior to the change. |
| Appointed Counsel shall comply
with all laws, rules, procedures and ethical provisions for providing
reasonable assistance of counsel to their client. |
| Appointed Counsel shall maintain
a high standard of ethical conduct toward the Court and their client,
and always be completely candid with both. |
| Appointed Counsel shall timely
inform their client of all matters relating to the preparation,
trial and disposition of the case, offers of plea bargains, appellate
and writ rights, deadlines and such other matters necessary to provide
reasonable assistance of counsel. |
| Appointed Counsel shall represent
a defendant until the charges are dismissed, the defendant is acquitted,
appeals are exhausted, or the attorney is relieved of his duties
by the Court or replaced by other counsel after a finding of good
cause is entered on the record. |
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IV REMOVAL FROM PUBLIC APPOINTMENT LISTS |
| Repeated failure to
contact or interview clients in a timely manner, submission of an
improperly documented request for payment, repeated failure to fulfill
the duties required by law, rules, these Local Rules or ethical
provisions for providing reasonable assistance of counsel, may result
in removal of an attorney’s name from a Public Appointment List. |
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V. COMPENSATION OF COUNSEL |
| A. Legal Fees |
| All fee payment requests must be
itemized by appointed counsel on forms approved by the District
and County Court at Law Judges. All requests shall be submitted
to the Judge presiding over the proceedings for review and approval,
and submitted to the county auditor for payment. |
| 1. Appointed attorneys shall
be compensated on an hourly fee basis in accordance with the schedule
of fees adopted by formal action of the District and County Court
at Law Judges. |
| 2. The range of hourly rates
shall be uniform among all Courts, and take into consideration the
complexity of the case, the experience and ability of the attorney,
time spent in court making an appearance for the defendant as evidenced
by a docket entry, time spent in trial, time spent in a proceeding
in which sworn oral testimony is elicited, reasonable and necessary
time spent out of court supported by any documentation required
by the Court, preparation of appellate briefs and preparation of
a Motion for Rehearing, the potential punishment faced by the defendant,
and reasonable office overhead costs. |
| 3. There will be no minimum
or maximum fee per case or per day. |
| 4. If the trial judge recommends
disapproval of the requested amount of payment, the Judge shall
make written findings, stating the amount of amount different from
the requested amount. |
| 5. Any disapproved fee payment
request may be appealed by the appointed counsel to the Presiding
Judge of the Second Administrative Judicial Region, as provided
by the Fair Defense Act. |
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| B. Expenses |
| 1. Compensation for reasonable
and necessary expenses shall be made to include investigation, expert
witness assistance, and other litigation expenses, such
as long distance or collect telephone call. |
| 2. Procedures
consistent with Articles 26.02(f), (g), and (h) of the Code of Criminal
Procedure will be adopted for payment of expenses incurred with
and without prior Court approval as provided in the Fair Defense
Act. |
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| STATE OF TEXAS |
| COUNTY OF ANGELINA |
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| ORDER |
| On the 3rd. day of December, 2001,
The Board of Judges of Angelina County, Texas met and adopted the
attached Local Rules of Angelina County for the Timely and Fair
Appointment of Counsel for Indigent Defendants, in accordance with
S.B.7. |
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| Judge Paul White, 159th. Judicial
District Court |
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| Judge Barry
Bryan, 217th Judicial
District Court |
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| Judge
Robert K. Inselmann Jr., County Court
at Law No. 1 |
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|
Judge Derek C. Flournoy ,
County Court at Law No. 2 |
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