ADOPTED - JULY 26, 2005
Agenda Item No. 34
Introduced by the Judiciary and Finance Committees of the:
INGHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE APPROVAL OF NEW COURT APPOINTED ATTORNEY PAYMENT CONTRACTS AND FEE SCHEDULES
RESOLUTION #05-197
WHEREAS, the 55th District Court has a line item for court appointed attorneys to assist with the representation of indigent defendants; and
WHEREAS, the process for compensating court appointed attorneys has been the same for a very long time; and
WHEREAS, the turnover rate for court appointed attorneys is at an all-time high due to the current payment process; and
WHEREAS, the Court wants to ensure fair and equitable representation from each court appointed attorney designated by the Court; and
WHEREAS, the Court deems it appropriate to request reimbursement of services from defendants to assist with payment; and
WHEREAS, the Court would like to change its collection of fees and distribution of payment of services to court appointed attorneys; and
WHEREAS, the Court recommends that the Ingham County Board of Commissioners approve the new court appointed attorney contracts and fee schedules (see the attached Fee Schedule for Representation of Indigent Defendants in the 55th Judicial District Court).
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Ingham County Board of Commissioners hereby approves the 55th District Court’s request to implement new court appointed attorney contracts and fee schedules for the time period August 1, 2005 through December 31, 2006.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Ingham County Board of Commissioners authorizes the Controller’s Office to make the necessary budget adjustments in the District Court’s 2005 budget.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Chairperson of the Ingham County Board of Commissioners and the County Clerk are authorized to sign any contract documents as prepared by or approved as to form by the County Attorney consistent with this resolution
JUDICIARY: Yeas: Holman, Weatherwax-Grant, Nolan, Swope, Schafer, Dougan
Nays: None Absent: None Approved 7/14/05
FINANCE: Yeas: Dedden, Swope, Hertel, Schor, Dougan
Nays: None Absent: Thomas Approved 7/20/05
FEE SCHEDULE FOR REPRESENTATION OF INDIGENT DEFENDANTS
IN THE 55TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT
The compensation for an attorney representing an indigent defendant under this contract shall be $75 per case (pretrial, plea, sentence) for the duration of the contract. The above fee will be paid regardless of the number of charges arising out of the incident. Should there be multiple incidents concerning the indigent defendant resulting in multiple charges, the judges reserve the right to allow only one fee, especially where a settlement has been reached of all issues at one time. Should it be impossible to resolve the charges out of separate incidents at the same time, then a separate fee for each incident may be paid.
The compensation for attorneys appointed to handle specific court matters such as but not limited to probation violation hearings, motion to showcause for contempt and the like shall be paid $50 for the duration of the contract. This fee will be assessed at the time of the appointment by the magistrate or district court judge. Probation violations and motion to showcause will be assessed between $75 and $150 depending on the nature of the violation. The county will receive all monies above and beyond the initial $50 fee.
Out of pocket expenses or excess attorney in-court and out-of-court time incurred by an attorney in the course of representing a defendant under this agreement may be reimbursed provided a statement of such costs is submitted by the attorney in writing and such statement is approved by the judge assigned to the file. All out of pocket costs are to be pre-approved in writing by the judge assigned to the file.
Attorneys will be notified of their appointment by notice from the Court. Once their representation of an indigent defendant has been completed, the attorney shall submit to the Court a signed statement so indicating that to the Court. The Court Administrator will monitor and accumulate the statements of services rendered and the Court will pay the attorneys on a monthly basis. Remittance for payment of services shall be submitted to the Court no later than 60 days from the last date services were performed. Payment shall be based upon the year that services were rendered and not upon request for payment.
If an attorney appointed under this contract has been substituted out of the case or in any other way released of his/her duties prior to resolution of the charge(s), the attorney shall submit the payment statement to the judge assigned to the file and the judge shall endorse on the statement the amount to be paid to the attorney up to amount set forth in Section 10.
The attorneys shall not request nor receive any additional compensation for services rendered for an indigent defendant pursuant to this contract from any other source.