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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3616 ResolutionRESOLUTION NO. 3Ce1 A RESOLUTION of the City of Pasco, Washington, repealing Resolution No. 3462 and adopting new Standards for the Delivery of Public Defender Services. WHEREAS, the Washington legislature by RCW 10.101.030 requires the City of Pasco ("City") to legislatively adopt Standards for the delivery of Public Criminal Defense Services; and WHEREAS, the Council has, by Resolution No. 3462, on the 18th day of March, 2013, adopted a Resolution initiating the process of reviewing Standards for indigent defense under which the City Manager and staff engaged in a process to review and update the Standards adopted by the City utilizing the Washington State Bar Association Standards for Indigent Defense Services as a guideline and to work with the attorney contractors providing public defense services to the City, the prosecutors, and the Pasco Municipal Court to provide a report to the City Council and to prepare such documents and amendments to the Standards as adopted by Court rule; and WHEREAS, since the initiation of that review, additional Standards have been adopted, case load weighting established, and litigation has occurred providing additional direction for the preparation of appropriate Standards; and WHEREAS, on December 4, 2013, a decision in Wilbur vs. City of Mount Vernon was rendered providing additional guidance to Washington cities regarding the provision of indigent defense services, its funding, and evaluation of existing and necessary services; and WHEREAS, the City Manager and staff have done a comprehensive assessment, and evaluation of the indigent defense procedures before the Pasco Municipal Court, and have identified significant modifications to the procedure, the agreements with the defense providers, prosecutors, and the Municipal Court, and prepared Standards and procedures which are designed to enhance the protection of the rights of all those accused of a crime and specifically that vulnerable portion of citizens who cannot afford to secure legal representation in criminal proceedings and to assure those rights are preserved. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PASCO, WASHINGTON, DO RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The City of Pasco does hereby adopt the following standards for the delivery of Public Defender Services: 1. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. 1.1 Public Defense Services shall be provided to all clients in a professional, skilled manner consistent with the minimum standards set forth by the Washington State Bar Association Standards for Indigent Defense Services (June 3, 2011), the Rules of Professional Conduct, case law and, in particular, the decision in Wilbur vs. Mt. Vernon, and applicable Court rules defining the duties of counsel and the rights of defendants in criminal cases. The Public Defender's primary and most fundamental responsibility is to promote and protect the interests of the client. 1.2 Public Defense shall be provided to indigent clients whose eligibility has been determined through an established screening process. 1.3 All Public Defenders providing services by contract shall quarterly certify their compliance with the standards for indigent defense by filing a Certification of Compliance as required by CrR 3.1, CrRLJ 3.1 and JuCR 9.2. Such forms shall be filed with the City's Municipal Court. Copies of each Public Defender's certification shall be provided to the City's Defense Contract Administrator. 1.4 Nondiscrimination. The Public Defender shall comply with all Federal, State and local nondiscrimination laws or ordinances. The duty of nondiscrimination relates not only to the provision of services by the Public Defender to clients, but also with respect to the hiring and employment practices of the Public Defender Contractor. 2. ADMINISTRATION, SUPPORT SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE. 2.1 Contracts for services and proposals submitted in pursuit of such contracts shall require the Public Defender to provide, through adequate compensation provided in the contract, adequate administrative support, including but not limited to: 2.1.1 Travel, telephones, law library and/or electronic research capabilities, financial accounting, case management systems, computers, word processing equipment and software, office space and supplies. Proposals for contracts shall be evaluated to address the training of attorneys and staff (see Section 1.1 above) and provide for adequate staffing and other costs associated with the day-to-day management of a law office. 2.1.2 Private offices and/or conference rooms shall be available which allow the maintenance of confidentiality. A telephone system, internet access and postal address shall be provided by the Public Defender. 2.2 The Public Defender shall provide for adequate staffing under the contract. An adequate staff includes the provision for investigative services, legal assistance, accounting services, case management services and/or programs and access, when needed, to the services of a social worker, mental health professional and/or translator. 2.3 The contract shall provide for additional compensation for extraordinary costs associated with defense, such as expert witness fees. 3. EVALUATION AND MONITORING. 3.1 The City Manager shall designate a Public Defense System Contract Administrator to provide monitoring and evaluation of the Public Defense Services provided by the City. 3.2 Public Defense Services shall include a case reporting system and information management system. Such systems shall have the capability to provide periodic reports to the City regarding the caseload generated under the contract for each attorney and intern providing services under the contract, case disposition and history. 4. CASELOAD LIMITS. The Public Defender shall comply with all caseload limitations imposed pursuant to the Court Rule and adopted Standards of the Washington State Supreme Court. 5. CONTRACT WARRANTY. The Public Defender, Conflict Counsel and every attorney providing indigent defense services by contract with the City shall warrant that he/she has: 5.1 Read the Wilbur vs. City of Mount Vernon (December 2013) decision and will provide services in accord with its provisions; and 5.2 Ensured that the compensation provided is sufficient to provide adequate training, administrative and staff services, and infrastructure required by these Standards, Court Rule and the State and Federal Constitutions. 6. TERMINATION AND REMOVAL. Termination of the contract, other than by mutual agreement or expiration of its term, shall occur only for "good cause." Good cause shall include the failure of the contract Public Defender to render adequate representation to clients, the willful disregard of the rights and best interests of the client, and/or the willful disregard of these Standards. Termination may also occur for violation of the express terms of the contract, provided, however, that the Public Defender shall be provided reasonable opportunity, following notice, to cure any technical contract violations that do not impair the provision of quality representation to the indigent client. 7. SUBCONTRACTORS, SUBSTITUTION, AND CONFLICT COUNSEL. 7.1 In the event of conflict or removal of the Public Defender, Conflict Counsel approved by the City shall be available, either through a joint contract with the Public Defender and Conflict Counsel, by separate contract between the City and Conflict Counsel or by Court appointment. In the event that alternative or Conflict Counsel is required to be assigned, the Public Defender shall bear no part of the costs associated with the appointment of an alternative Conflict Counsel. The contract should address the procedures for continuing representation of clients upon conclusion of the agreement. 7.2 Conflict Counsel shall adhere to the Standards established by this Resolution, including but not limited to, an evaluation of the overall case count annually by Conflict Counsel under the procedures set forth in this agreement. 8. UPDATE AND EVALUATION. As the rules established by the Washington State Supreme Court are applied and interpreted by the Courts and, when appropriate, the Washington State Bar Association and other administrative agencies, the City states its intent to review and modify these Standards. Section 2. This Resolution shall take full force and effect as of January 1, 2015. PASSED by the City Council of the City of Pasco, dated this /7 day of 2015. i �- N�att Watkins,`Mayor Washington, as its regular meeting APPROVED AS TO FORM: