Amend SB 600 (house committee printing) by adding an
appropriately numbered SECTION to read as follows and by
renumbering existing SECTIONS accordingly:
SECTION ____. (a) Sections 2(c) and (d), Article 11.071,
Code of Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
(c) At the earliest practical time, but in no event later
than 30 days, after the convicting court makes the findings
required under Subsections (a) and (b), the convicting court shall
appoint competent counsel that meets the requirements of Subsection
(d)(2), unless the applicant elects to proceed or is represented by
retained counsel. The convicting court may also appoint an
attorney to assist an attorney appointed as lead counsel in the
case. The assisting attorney is required to meet the requirements
of Subsections (d)(2)(A) and (F) but is not required to meet the
requirements of Subsections (d)(2)(B)-(E). On appointing
counsel under this section, the convicting court shall immediately
notify the court of criminal appeals of the appointment, including
in the notice a copy of the judgment and the name, address, and
telephone number of the appointed counsel.
(d)(1) The Task Force on Indigent Defense [court of criminal
appeals] shall adopt standards [rules] for the appointment of
attorneys as counsel under this section [and the convicting court
may appoint an attorney as counsel under this section only if the
appointment is approved by the court of criminal appeals in any
manner provided by those rules].
(2) The standards must require that an attorney
appointed as lead counsel under this section:
(A) be a member of the State Bar of Texas;
(B) exhibit proficiency and commitment to
providing quality representation to defendants or applicants
seeking relief in death penalty cases;
(C) have at least five years of experience in
criminal trial litigation, appellate practice, or habeas corpus
practice;
(D) have, in the three years preceding the
appointment, appeared in federal or state court as counsel in at
least three trial, appellate, or habeas corpus proceedings for
offenses punished as felonies of the first degree or capital
felonies;
(E) have, in the year preceding the appointment,
participated in continuing legal education courses or other
training relating to criminal defense or habeas corpus proceedings
in death penalty cases; and
(F) not have been found by a federal or state
court to have rendered ineffective assistance of counsel during the
trial or appeal of any felony case.
(3) The Task Force on Indigent Defense may maintain a
list of attorneys qualified for appointment under this section and
make that list available to a convicting court for the purpose of
assisting that court with the appointment of qualified counsel
under this section.
(4) The convicting court may not appoint an attorney
as counsel under this section if the attorney represented the
applicant at trial or on direct appeal, unless:
(A) the applicant and the attorney request the
appointment on the record; and
(B) the court finds good cause to make the
appointment.
(b) Section 71.060(c), Government Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(c) Any qualification standards adopted by the Task Force on
Indigent Defense under Subsection (a) that relate to the
appointment of counsel in a death penalty case must be consistent
with the standards specified under Section 2, Article 11.071, or
Article 26.052(d), Code of Criminal Procedure, as appropriate. An
attorney who is identified by the task force as not satisfying
performance or qualification standards adopted by the task force
under Subsection (a) may not accept an appointment in a capital
case.
(c) The Task Force on Indigent Defense shall adopt standards
described by Section 2(d), Article 11.071, Code of Criminal
Procedure, as amended by this section, not later than February 1,
2004.
(d) A convicting court that appoints counsel under Section
2, Article 11.071, Code of Criminal Procedure, on or after the 15th
day after the day on which the Task Force on Indigent Defense adopts
standards described by Section 2(d), Article 11.071, Code of
Criminal Procedure, as amended by this section, shall appoint the
counsel in conformity with this section. Counsel appointed under
Section 2, Article 11.071, Code of Criminal Procedure, before the
15th day after the date the standards are adopted must be appointed
in conformity with Section 2, Article 11.071, Code of Criminal
Procedure, as that section existed immediately before the effective
date of this section, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.