Establishes the New York state public defense commission to oversee the provision of public defense services in the state; such commission shall establish public defense services standards, provide financial assistance to local governments and public defense providers for expenses incurred in providing legal services to the indigent, provide training to persons in the public defense profession and oversee the provision of public defense services in the state.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A2874
SPONSOR: Pretlow
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act establishing the New York state public defense commission,
providing for the members, powers and duties thereof, and providing
fiscal relief to localities; and to amend the county law, in relation to
public defense services
 
PURPOSE:
To provide fiscal relief to localities and to improve the state's
justice system by increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of public-
ly-provided legal representation.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
sec. 1-legislative findings; sec. 2--short title: "New York state public
defense commission act"; sec. 3--definitions; sec. 4--establishes a
public defense commission to oversee the expenditure of state funds and
to coordinate the provision of publicly- provided legal representation;
sec. 5--establishes a public defense commission nominating committee;
sec. 6--establishes a director of public defense services; sec. 7--sets
forth general powers of the commission; sec. 8--establishes public
defense services standards; sec. 9--establishes a system whereby local
providers of public defense services may apply for state financial
assistance; sec. 10--allows the commission to provide defense services
to clients at the request of a judge, public defense provider or local
government, pursuant to contract; sec. 11--guidelines for eligibility
for public defense services; sec. 12--directs the director of public
defense services to provide training to providers of public defense
services; sec. 13--directs the director of public defense services to
provide oversight of providers of public defense services; sec. 14--re-
quires an annual report by the commission to the governor, senate and
assembly, and to the chief judge of the court of appeals; sec. 15--tax
exempt status of commission; sec. 16--confidentiality of public defense
records; sec. 17--allows certain expenses of a public defender serving
more than one county to be paid by the state with assistance pursuant to
this act; sec. 18--requires public defenders who report pursuant to
section 720 of the county law also report to the commission; sec.
19--increases compensation for representation; sec. 20--removes limit on
compensation in certain circumstances; sec. 21--allows financial assist-
ance from the state pursuant to this act for counsel services in certain
circumstances; sec. 22--requires annual reports by a public defender
appointed pursuant to article 18-A to the commission; sec. 23--no remedy
removed by this act; no employee to lose classification or status as a
result of transfer pursuant to this act; sec. 24--severability; sec.
25--effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York State has neglected its duty to provide quality defense
services. The state has not significantly revised its method of provid-
ing public legal representation in over 35 years, and the state has not
raised its assigned counsel rates since 1986. Lawyers serving on
assigned counsel panels under article 18-B of the County Law generally
earn $25 an hour for out-of-court activity and $40 an hour for in-court
work. The number of attorneys willing to serve on these panels has
shrunk by nearly 70% in the last decade. The decline in the number of
attorneys willing to serve as assigned counsel threatens to impair the
state's legal system. Attorneys have brought lawsuits challenging the
state's fee structure, and have refused to accept further assignments.
Fearful of the impact the present payment scheme may have on the quality
of justice in their courtrooms, many judges have even overridden 18-B
rates.
The complexity of New York's indigent defense system demands a thorough
and systematic approach which takes into account the varied needs of the
state's different counties. Infusing state money to merely increase the
assigned counsel rate, for instance, would discriminate against those
counties that have taken the initiative of creating institutional
defense providers. New York lags far behind the national standard in its
oversight of public defense services. A majority of states coordinate
their defense systems at the state level, often through the use of a
commission. Sixteen states have gone so far as to set up statewide
public defender offices with full authority for the provision of defense
services. New York, however, is among only fourteen states that place
decisions surrounding indigent defense services entirely with local
officials with little or no programmatic guidance at the state level. By
contrast, public defense standards have been established in many other
states, including Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota,
Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington, Louisiana, Massachusetts,
Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, and Virginia.
The independent governing body set forth for the public defense commis-
sion established by this act would insulate public defenders and public
defense systems from undue professional, fiscal, or political pressure
and from political pressures adverse to the interests of public defense
clients. It would also create clearer standards of quality in indigent
representation, promote efficiency in indigent defense provision, and
ensure that state funding has its maximum impact in improving indigent
representation.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A2496 2009/2010 held for consideration in judiciary
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Increased state spending for publicly-provided legal representation will
be partially offset by an increased efficiency in the operation of the
legal system. The cost of the increase to criminal and family court
representation under Article 18-B of the County Law and for Law Guardi-
ans would be $108,000,000 to be paid for by the state.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately, and the appointment of members
to the New York state public defense commission shall be completed with
90 days of such effective date, and the public defense services stand-
ards, required by section eight of this act, shall be promulgated within
180 days of the appointment of all members of the New York state public
defense commission.