McFadden v. Kelly

722 S.W.2d 110, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 5100
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 23, 1986
DocketNo. WD 38122
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 722 S.W.2d 110 (McFadden v. Kelly) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McFadden v. Kelly, 722 S.W.2d 110, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 5100 (Mo. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

LOWENSTEIN, Judge.

The ultimate issue in the appeal is whether the Missouri Auditor, pursuant to an audit of the Public Defender Commission, may subpoena from the Defender affidavits executed by or on behalf of individual defendants which are used by the Defender for determining indigency. The Public Defender Commission and the System, (Public Defender’s) is funded by the state, and generally speaking, is a mechanism to provide defense services for those who cannot afford private counsel, who are accused of a felony or misdemeanor, parole violation, or who are guaranteed a lawyer under the Constitution or who have a loss of liberty where law requires counsel. By legislation in 1982 the Public Defender took over from the courts the duty of determining whether applicants seeking a Public Defender were indigent and therefore qualified for the Defender to represent them.

It is the actual application for a Public Defender and the affidavit of indigency of the defendant the Auditor seeks (hereafter referred to as the affidavit). Acting under Section 29.235.2 RSMo 1978, the Auditor issued a subpoena duces tecum to McFadden, the Defender in Cole County for the affidavits of some sixteen criminal defendants who had been represented by his office. The Cole County Public Defender, joined by the Director and the Public Defender Commission filed this action for in-junctive relief and quashal of the subpoena as well as a judgment declaring the Auditor may not obtain this information from the Defender’s files.

In auditing this state agency the Auditor requested the Affidavits so as to check this sample and determine whether or not persons claiming indigency and receiving the legal defense services of the Defender system were truly not capable of employing private counsel. In this suit the Public Defender resisted production of the affidavits on the basis of a claim of violation of separation of powers, the confidential nature of the material procured in an attorney-client relationship and the subject information went beyond what could be obtained under the constitution and statutory duties of the Auditor. After evidentiary hearing the judge found in favor of the Auditor.

The following constitutional and statutory provisions relating to the Auditor and the Public Defender are now mentioned.

Missouri Constitution, The Auditor, Article IV, § 13 provides a duty to the Auditor to “post audit the accounts of state agencies.” Section 29.200, RSMo 1978 spells out the constitutional directive by requiring the Auditor “every two years, and when he deems it necessary, proper or expedient, the state auditor shall examine and post-audit the accounts of all appointive officers of [112]*112the state and of institutions supported in whole or in part by the state.” Section 29.130 gives the Auditor free access to state offices, “for the inspection of such books, accounts and papers as concern his duties.”

Section 29.235, supra, states:
1. All audits shall conform to recognized governmental auditing practices.
2. The' state auditor * * * may administer oaths and cause to be summoned * * * any person whose testimony is desired or necessary in any examination, and may require the person to produce necessary papers, documents and writings.

THE PUBLIC DEFENDER

Section 600.019, RSMo Supp.1984 treats the Office of State Public Defender as an independent department of the judicial branch. All further statutory references to Chapter 600 are contained in RSMo Supp.1984.

Run by the Commission, the Public Defender system is to provide defense services in cases enumerated in § 600.042.3 for “eligible persons.” Section 600.011(6) and (7), RSMo Supp.1984.

Section 600.086.1 holds a person is considered eligible for representation when it appears “from all the circumstances of the case,” including his ability to make bond, his income and the number of persons dependent on him for support “that the person does not have the means ... to obtain counsel in his behalf and is indigent....” Section 600.086.2 gives the Commission rulemaking power as to determining indi-gency. Section 600.086.3 reads as follows:

The determination of indigency of any person seeking the services of the state public defender system shall be made by the defender or anyone serving under him at any stage of the proceedings and shall be subject to appeal to the court before which the case is pending. Any such person claiming indigency shall file with the court an affidavit which shall contain the factual information required by the commission under rules which may be established by the commission in determining indigency.

The rest of § 600.086 gives the Public Defender the ability to inquire into the financial status of persons seeking its services, on whom is the burden to convince the defender or the court of their eligibility.

Section 600.090 allows the Public Defender to make a determination of requiring a client, if financially able to make a cash contribution towards the cost the representation generates. Procedures are put in place for collecting such sums from defendants the Defender serves.

Section 600.091 reads as follows:
The files maintained by the state public defender office which relate to the handling of any case shall be considered confidential and shall not be open to inspection by any person unless authorized by law, court order, the commission, or the director. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit access by the state auditor to those records of the state public defender system needed by the state auditor to carry out the duties of his office.

The evidence at trial included the administrative rules on determination of indigen-cy as promulgated by the Public Defender. In summary, and very generally, those guidelines as to the determination of eligibility are as follows: A person unemployed and receiving public assistance or unemployment compensation is eligible. The income scale for eligibility is a net of $100 per week plus $20 for the first two dependents and $10 additional dependents. Debts over $200 and living expenses are to be considered, as well as existence of certain assets. If a person has a 20% equity in a home or over $500 in cash there is a presumption the person is not indigent. A defendant who makes a bond of $5000 is also presumed ineligible.

Also introduced in evidence was the Affidavit in question. Someone in the Public Defender’s office takes the information as to land, debts, assets, income, expenses and dependents from the applicant. The appli[113]*113cant then declares this information to be true and is told making a false statement on his affidavit is a crime and is given to understand by the Defender or designee may contact employers, banks and other institutions to verify the information. It is on the basis of the information in the Affidavit that the Public Defender makes a determination as to indigency and therefore eligibility. In bold face type the applicant is advised, “you may be liable to the state for the cost of the services and expenses of the lawyer who handles your case if you are or will be able to pay all or any part of such costs.”

The Public Defender would agree to supply requested Affidavits, but mask the names of the applicants.

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Bluebook (online)
722 S.W.2d 110, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 5100, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcfadden-v-kelly-moctapp-1986.