HB 24-05: Federal Caseload Relief Act (Passed)

[thumb21]

A BILL
To incentivize Regions to adopt limits on the number of cases a public defender may be assigned in any given year

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives, in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Title

This legislation may be cited as the Federal Caseload Relief Act.

Section 2. Justification

1. In Gideon v. Wainwright 372 U.S. 335 (1963), the Supreme Court held that the 6th Amendment Right to Counsel required States/Regions to assign defense attorneys to defendants charged with serious offenses and who could not afford counsel. This constitutional holding was subsequently extended to require States/Regions to provide counsel to cases where criminal conviction could lead to imprisonment.  In Gideon, the Court held that the assignment of counsel was essential to a fair trial and a constitutional right of the accused which States/Regions can not abridge.

2. Public defense systems are critically underfunded, and therefore the case workload can be overwhelming even under the most ideal circumstances.  Most public defense offices do not have paralegals, law clerks, or full-time investigators.  Therefore, lawyers are expected to do all the work that is necessary to provide a reasonably effective defense for their clients, as required by the Constitution and affirmed by the Supreme Court.

3. A 2017 study conducted by Postlethwaite & Netterville, in conjunction with the Atlasian Bar Association, concluded that the Louisiana public defense system is currently deficient 1,406 FTE [full-time equivalent] attorneys.  Based on the results of the study and analysis presented therein, "the Louisiana public defense system currently only has capacity to handle 21 percent" of the case workload.

4a. "In 2009, the New York State Legislature passed and Governor Patterson signed into law 'case caps' for public defenders in New York City.  Through the Office of Court Administration, the Legislature supplemented NYC's indigent defense budget to effectuate an Appellate Division Rule which limited annual criminal defense attorney caseloads to 400 misdemeanors or 150 felonies, with felonies counted as 2.66 misdemeanors in mixed caseloads." [Source: nysenate.gov]

4b. "In 2015, The Center for Court Innovation released a report titled 'An Analysis of Mandatory Case Caps and Attorney Workloads', concluding that mandatory cases caps substantially improved the quality of representation in Kings County." [Source: nysenate.gov]

Section 3. Federal-Regional Strategy For Caseload Relief

1. Regions shall be authorized to develop and implement a written plan that establishes numerical caseload/workload standards for each provider of constitutionally mandated publicly funded representation in criminal cases for people who are unable to afford counsel, provided that annual individual numerical caseload/workload standards may not exceed 367 misdemeanors or 138 felonies, with each felony counting as two and sixty-six hundredths misdemeanors in mixed caseloads.

2. The Department of Justice will reimburse Regions for the costs of implementing these plans, subject to approval of the plans by its budgetary division.

People's Regional Senate
Passed 6-0 in the Atlasian Senate Assembled,

Sponsor: Thumb21
House Designation: HB 24-05

72 hours to debate.

[thumb21]

This is another bill I took from the Senate queue. It increases funding to public defense departments while also empowering regions to cut the number of cases each lawyer has to take on - helping ensure a better quality public defense system. People absolutely have the right to a chance to defend themselves in court and this bill helps in that goal.

[thumb21]

I assume noone has anything to add?

Motion for a final vote

[thumb21]

Final Vote

72 hours

[thumb21]

Aye

[thumb21]

Passed

5-1-0-3

[thumb21]

A BILL
To incentivize Regions to adopt limits on the number of cases a public defender may be assigned in any given year

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives, in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Title

This legislation may be cited as the Federal Caseload Relief Act.

Section 2. Justification

1. In Gideon v. Wainwright 372 U.S. 335 (1963), the Supreme Court held that the 6th Amendment Right to Counsel required States/Regions to assign defense attorneys to defendants charged with serious offenses and who could not afford counsel. This constitutional holding was subsequently extended to require States/Regions to provide counsel to cases where criminal conviction could lead to imprisonment.  In Gideon, the Court held that the assignment of counsel was essential to a fair trial and a constitutional right of the accused which States/Regions can not abridge.

2. Public defense systems are critically underfunded, and therefore the case workload can be overwhelming even under the most ideal circumstances.  Most public defense offices do not have paralegals, law clerks, or full-time investigators.  Therefore, lawyers are expected to do all the work that is necessary to provide a reasonably effective defense for their clients, as required by the Constitution and affirmed by the Supreme Court.

3. A 2017 study conducted by Postlethwaite & Netterville, in conjunction with the Atlasian Bar Association, concluded that the Louisiana public defense system is currently deficient 1,406 FTE [full-time equivalent] attorneys.  Based on the results of the study and analysis presented therein, "the Louisiana public defense system currently only has capacity to handle 21 percent" of the case workload.

4a. "In 2009, the New York State Legislature passed and Governor Patterson signed into law 'case caps' for public defenders in New York City.  Through the Office of Court Administration, the Legislature supplemented NYC's indigent defense budget to effectuate an Appellate Division Rule which limited annual criminal defense attorney caseloads to 400 misdemeanors or 150 felonies, with felonies counted as 2.66 misdemeanors in mixed caseloads." [Source: nysenate.gov]

4b. "In 2015, The Center for Court Innovation released a report titled 'An Analysis of Mandatory Case Caps and Attorney Workloads', concluding that mandatory cases caps substantially improved the quality of representation in Kings County." [Source: nysenate.gov]

Section 3. Federal-Regional Strategy For Caseload Relief

1. Regions shall be authorized to develop and implement a written plan that establishes numerical caseload/workload standards for each provider of constitutionally mandated publicly funded representation in criminal cases for people who are unable to afford counsel, provided that annual individual numerical caseload/workload standards may not exceed 367 misdemeanors or 138 felonies, with each felony counting as two and sixty-six hundredths misdemeanors in mixed caseloads.

2. The Department of Justice will reimburse Regions for the costs of implementing these plans, subject to approval of the plans by its budgetary division.

People's Regional Senate
Passed 6-0 in the Atlasian Senate Assembled,

House of Representatives
Passed the House of Representatives 5-1-0-3