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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 10, 2023 01:15 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Napoleon J. Nelson and Rep. Natalie Mihalek |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Indigent Defense Advisory Committee |
In the United States, few rights are as fundamental as the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee that every person charged with a crime shall have the right to counsel. Without the promise of representation, our system of “innocent until proven guilty” would become a nullity. As the Supreme Court of the United States recognized in Gideon v. Wainwright, a defendant too poor to hire an attorney cannot stand equal before the law without counsel to ensure a fair trial. Gideon and subsequent cases have unequivocally placed the responsibility to provide indigent criminal defense on each state. However, after fifty-nine years Pennsylvania is the only state that does not appropriate funds to assist counties in complying with the Gideon constitutional mandate. To address this inadequacy, we will be introducing legislation to establish the Indigent Defense Advisory Committee within the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Comprised of members of the criminal defense bar, judges, and General Assembly appointments, this committee will propose and submit to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court minimum standards for the delivery of indigent defense services, and training and experience standards for indigent defense attorneys. Additionally, the Committee will be responsible for the following: · Establishing a virtual defender training library of identified statewide continuing legal education courses, practical training programs, skill development resources, capital case defense training, criminal defense training, juvenile defense training, and management and leadership training. · Adopting standards for collecting and reporting data related to the indigent criminal defense services in each county, including public defender caseloads/workloads, conflict counsel caseloads/workloads, and county spending on indigent criminal defense services. · Adopting standards for the use of case management systems by county public defender offices. · Developing, in partnership with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, a data request to better understand the number and status of cases involving indigent defendants. · Analyzing data trends and effectiveness of indigent defense services in the Commonwealth. · Partnering with other departments or agencies for the collection of data related to the delivery of indigent defense services. This bill would also establish the Indigent Defense Grant Program, which will be administered by the Commission with funds appropriated during the budget process. The Committee will review and comment on grants to ensure funds are geographically dispersed throughout the Commonwealth. Grants awarded must be consistent with the standards established by the Committee and the standards adopted by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Furthermore, grant money may not supplant existing county spending on indigent criminal defense services. Funding indigent defense services ensures that we are complying with our constitutional mandates, spares counties from lawsuits under the Kuren decision, and also help to mitigate against the costs of inadequate criminal defense such as wrongful convictions and excessive sentences. Last year, legislation similar to this passed unanimously in the State Senate. Please join me in supporting this legislation to address indigent defense services within the Commonwealth and relieve Pennsylvania of being the only state not providing funds to support indigent defense services. |
Introduced as HB1085