Relating to a maximum allowable caseload for criminal defense attorneys.

The text as introduced · 790 words

90R3031 JDK-F

By: Collier
H.B. No. 291

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a maximum allowable caseload for criminal defense

attorneys.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Article 26.04(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, is

amended to read as follows:

(b) Procedures adopted under Subsection (a) shall:

(1) authorize only the judges of the county courts,

statutory county courts, and district courts trying criminal cases

in the county, or the judges' designee, to appoint counsel for

indigent defendants in the county;

(2) apply to each appointment of counsel made by a

judge or the judges' designee in the county;

(3) ensure that each indigent defendant in the county

who is charged with a misdemeanor punishable by confinement or with

a felony and who appears in court without counsel has an opportunity

to confer with appointed counsel before the commencement of

judicial proceedings;

(4) require appointments for defendants in capital

cases in which the death penalty is sought to comply with any

applicable requirements under Articles 11.071 and 26.052;

(5) ensure that each attorney appointed from a public

appointment list to represent an indigent defendant perform the

attorney's duty owed to the defendant in accordance with the

adopted procedures, the requirements of this code, and applicable

rules of ethics; [ and ]

(6) ensure that appointments are allocated among

qualified attorneys in a manner that is fair, neutral, and

nondiscriminatory ; and

(7) ensure that an appointment will not result in the

applicable attorney having a caseload that is larger than the

maximum allowable caseload established under Section 79.043,

Government Code .

SECTION 2. Article 26.047(c), Code of Criminal Procedure,

is amended to read as follows:

(c) The commissioners court or commissioners courts shall

require a written plan of operation from an entity operating a

program under this article. The plan of operation must include:

(1) a budget for the program, including salaries;

(2) a description of each personnel position,

including the program's director;

(3) the maximum allowable caseload for each attorney

appointed by the program , not to exceed the maximum allowable

caseload established under Section 79.043, Government Code ;

(4) provisions for training personnel of the program

and attorneys appointed under the program;

(5) a description of anticipated overhead costs for

the program;

(6) a policy regarding licensed investigators and

expert witnesses used by attorneys appointed under the program;

(7) a policy to ensure that appointments are

reasonably and impartially allocated among qualified attorneys;

and

(8) a policy to ensure that an attorney appointed

under the program does not accept appointment in a case that

involves a conflict of interest for the attorney that has not been

waived by all affected clients.

SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 79, Government Code, is

amended by adding Section 79.043 to read as follows:

Sec. 79.043. MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE CASELOAD FOR CRIMINAL

DEFENSE ATTORNEYS. (a) The commission shall establish a maximum

allowable caseload for a criminal defense attorney that,

considering the attorney's total caseload, including appointments

made under Article 26.04, Code of Criminal Procedure, appointments

made under Title 3, Family Code, and other work, would allow the

attorney to give each criminal defendant the time and effort

necessary to ensure effective and diligent representation.

(b) The maximum allowable caseload described by Subsection

(a) is not required to be a specific number and may vary according

to one or more formulas established by the commission.

(c) The commission shall revise the maximum allowable

caseload described by Subsection (a) as necessary.

(d) The commission shall post the maximum allowable

caseload described by Subsection (a) on the commission's Internet

website.

(e) The commission shall adopt rules to promote compliance

by each county in this state with the maximum allowable caseload

described by Subsection (a). The commission shall impose a remedy

for noncompliance occurring in any county in which the commission

provided, for the preceding state fiscal year, grant funds under

Section 79.037 in an amount that equaled more than 50 percent of the

county's expenditures on indigent defense services for that year.

SECTION 4. Not later than November 1, 2027, the Texas

Indigent Defense Commission shall establish and post on its

Internet website the maximum allowable caseload described by

Section 79.043, Government Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to

a criminal case in which the indictment or information is filed on

or after November 1, 2027. A criminal case in which the indictment

or information was filed before November 1, 2027, is governed by the

law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and

the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2027.