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House Bill 1318 |
House Author: Turner, Sylvester et al. |
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Effective: See below |
Senate Sponsor: Whitmire et al. |
House Bill 1318 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to require an attorney appointed to represent an indigent defendant to annually submit to the applicable county information describing the percentage of the attorney's practice time that was dedicated to work based on appointments to represent an indigent defendant and appointments to represent a person in a juvenile justice proceeding. This requirement takes effect September 1, 2014. The bill prohibits a public defender's office from accepting an appointment to represent an indigent defendant if the acceptance would violate the maximum allowable caseloads established at the office, sets out procedures for a chief public defender who refuses such an appointment and for the court with which the chief public defender files the refusal statement, and prohibits the termination, removal, or sanctioning of a chief public defender for a good-faith refusal.
House Bill 1318 amends the Government Code to expand the information that each county is required to prepare and provide annually to the Texas Indigent Defense Commission to include specified information regarding plans or proposals for a public defender's office and a managed assigned counsel program and contracts for indigent defense services. Effective September 1, 2014, the bill requires each county annually to prepare and provide to the commission information describing the number of appointments to represent indigent defendants and persons in juvenile justice proceedings made to each attorney accepting appointments in the county and the previously described information regarding the percentage of the attorneys' practice time dedicated to work based on those appointments. The bill requires the commission to conduct and publish a study to determine guidelines for establishing a maximum allowable caseload for a criminal defense attorney to ensure effective indigent representation and sets out requirements for the study.
House Bill 1318 amends the Family Code to require a court to appoint counsel to represent a detained child within a reasonable time before the first detention hearing is held, unless the court finds that the appointment is not feasible due to exigent circumstances. Except as otherwise provided, the bill's provisions take effect September 1, 2013.