FT 16.11 - Hugo Black Assistance of Counsel Act of 2020 (DEBATING)

[OBD]

AN ACT
to recommit to the right to counsel

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this act shall be, the “Hugo Black Assistance of Counsel Act of 2020.” It may be cited as the “Black Act,” as the “Assistance of Counsel Act of 2020,” or as “BACA.”

Section 3 (Structural reforms to the COPD)
i. To account for the admission of Atlasian Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth Office of Public Defenders (COPD) is expanded to oversee the jurisdictions of Atlasian Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Section 2 (Case caps)
i. Caseloads for public defenders shall not exceed 300 misdemeanors nor 100 felony cases annually, with felonies counting as two misdemeanors in mixed case loads.
ii. The COPD shall hire a number of public defenders sufficient to service all cases assigned to it in accordance with the provisions of §2(i) of this act.

Section 3 (Implementation)
i. The COPD shall aim to complete hiring no later than 31 December 2020.

Sponsor: Harry S. Truman (Fianna Fremont - Labor, North Dakota)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

My thanks to the speaker.

This is a regional counterpart to the Federal Caseload Relief Act, adopted the 18th instant, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:

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.

The reasoning given by the Congress for this act, which I consider to be wholly right and proper, is that the volume of cases assigned to public defenders frequently exceeds what they system may be reasonably expected to bear —with the consequence that public defenders have not sufficient time to prepare cases, and their clients therefore suffer from inadequate representation. During my last tenure as first minister, Frémont adopted the Earl Warren Assistance of Counsel Act which doubled the number of public defenders in Frémont and increased their salary to be competitive with private law firms across our commonwealth. This legislation would continue this vital work by establishing caseload caps for individual public defenders as recommended by the federal act, with the hiring of additional public defenders necessary to account for these new requirements to be carried out at federal expense.

Are there any questions?

[OBD]

No objections from my corner.

[Mike Thick]

No objections from my corner.

Same here. Good to move to a vote whenever.

[OBD]

Motion to vote.

[Mike Thick]

Motion to vote.

Second.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Motion to vote.

Second.

Third.

[OBD]

Vote opened. 48 hours, compadres.

Aye.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Aye.

[Tirnam]

Aye

[OBD]

Hugo Black Assistance of Counsel Act of 2020
Frémont Parliament Bill 16.11 - Sponsored by Harry S. Truman, FM

	LAB	IND	TOTAL
Aye	3	0	3
Nay	0	0	0
Abstain	0	0	0
Not Present	1	1	2

	FF	BB	ML	SF	TOTAL
Aye	2	0	0	1	3
Nay	0	0	0	0	0
Abstain	0	0	0	0	0
Not Present	0	1	1	0	2

First Minister HARRY S TRUMAN of North Dakota (LAB/FF)
Mr. AUSTRALIANSWINGVOTER of Washington (IND/ML)
Mr. TIRNAM of California (LAB/FF)
Mr. SCOTT of Wyoming(LAB/BB)
Mr. OREGON BLUE DOG of Oregon (LAB/SF)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

AN ACT
to recommit to the right to counsel

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this act shall be, the “Hugo Black Assistance of Counsel Act of 2020.” It may be cited as the “Black Act,” as the “Assistance of Counsel Act of 2020,” or as “BACA.”

Section 3 (Structural reforms to the COPD)
i. To account for the admission of Atlasian Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth Office of Public Defenders (COPD) is expanded to oversee the jurisdictions of Atlasian Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Section 2 (Case caps)
i. Caseloads for public defenders shall not exceed 300 misdemeanors nor 100 felony cases annually, with felonies counting as two misdemeanors in mixed case loads.
ii. The COPD shall hire a number of public defenders sufficient to service all cases assigned to it in accordance with the provisions of §2(i) of this act.

Section 3 (Implementation)
i. The COPD shall aim to complete hiring no later than 31 December 2020.

[AustralianSwingVoter]

Aye ftr