Initial
Rule:
Pursuant to the requirements of Ark. Code Ann. § 25-15-203,
the Arkansas Public Defender Commission hereby adopts as a rule
of the Commission the following.
The Arkansas Public Defeneder Commission is a board of seven
(7) persons who are
appointed by the Governor. The Commission is required to be
composed of at least four (4) attorneys; one (1) county judge;
and at least one trial judge who hears criminal cases. The
Commission is required to meet at least one time per quarter.
The following powers and duties have been imposed upon the Commission
by Act 1193: |
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1. |
Establishing
standards for a statewide public defender system; |
2. |
Establishing
a standard definition of indigency for the purposes of court
appointment of counsel; |
3. |
Establishing
standards for the operation of statewide trial public defender
offices; |
4. |
Establishing
standards and policies of funding, compensation, and staffing
of trial public defender offices; |
5. |
Establishing
standards of experience for attorneys assigned to a particular
case; |
6. |
To
approve the annual budget for each trial public defender office
throughout the state; |
7. |
To
require each trial public defender to compile reports on its
expenditures, caseload,
and status of cases; |
8. |
To
evaluate the performance of the Executive Director; |
9. |
To
evaluate the performance of the Capital, Conflicts, and Appellate
Office; |
10. |
To
evaluate the performance of each trial public defender; |
11. |
To
evaluate the performance of each private attorney who is appointed
to represent indigent criminal defendants; |
12. |
To
approve the reassignment of cases from one trial public defender
to another public defender in adjacent areas where conflicts
are sought to be a:voided; |
13. |
To
approve the purchase, rental, and sharing of office space, equipment,
or personnel among trial public defenders; |
14. |
Establishing
employee personnel policies for the Commission and the trial
public defenders; |
15. |
To
accept and to authorize trial public defenders to accept monies,
gifts, grants, or services from any public or private source; |
16. |
To
enter and authorize a trial public defender to enter into contracts
with individuals, educational institutions, nonprofit associations,
or state or federal agencies, including contracts for the provision
of legal services related to the defense of indigent criminal
defendants; |
17. |
To
compile and maintain a list of private attorneys from each judicial
district who are willing to accept court appointments in criminal
cases and who meet any other qualifications established by the
Commission; and |
18. |
To
compile and maintain a separate list of private attorneys who
are willing to accept court appointments in capital cases and
who meet any other qualifications established by the Commission.
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The
Arkansas Public Defender Commission will meet at least once
every three months. The Commission will, at least twenty (20)
days in advance, advertise in a statewide publication when
and where each meeting will be held. These advertisements
will describe the nature of any topics scheduled to be discussed
by the Commission at each meeting. The Commission will consider
comments and requests made by members of the public at its
meetings. Written comments to the Commission should be forwarded
to the Arkansas Public Defender Commission at Suite 201, 101
East Capitol, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201.
Parliamentary procedure shall apply at all meetings held by
the Commission. The Commission will hear and consider oral
comments from the public at its meetings subject to parliamentary
procedure rules. The Chair of the Commission will call each
meeting to order and submit to the floor the issues to which
the Commission will address. Each Commission meeting will
open to the public. All attendants are required to provide
information on the attendance sheet which will be located
at the door of each meeting. The Commission reserves the right
to consider matters in executive session but will make all
decisions, rulings, and orders in open meetings.
Subject to the constraints of time, the Commission will attempt
to address any subject or issue not scheduled to be addressed
at a particular meeting, should such a request be made by
the public. To allow the Commission adequate opportunity to
consider and prepare for public comments and requests, the
Commission strongly urges, but does not require, that such
be made and submitted in writing in the manner described above.
The substance of the written comments or requests may be further
elaborated upon orally at the Commission's meetings.
The rules, regulations, standards, policies, and orders of
the Commission shall be kept at the Offices of the Arkansas
Public Defender Commission at Suite 201, 101 East Capitol,
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201. Copies of these documents can
be purchased from this office. The Commission will also file
these documents at the Arkansas State Library and other depositories,
as required by law. |
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