§ 45

(This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date ) Sec. 45. Powers and duties of the State Public Defender Commission. (a) The Commission shall appoint, by a vote of a majority of its members, a State Public Defender for a 6-year term and until the State Public Defender's successor is appointed and qualified. The State Public Defender must be an attorney licensed to practice law in this State and whose practice of law has clearly demonstrated experience in the representation of persons accused of crime; who has been licensed to practice law in this State or in another state for at least 5 years; who has had administrative experience; and who is dedicated to the goals of providing high-quality representation for eligible persons and to improving the quality of defense services generally. The State Public Defender shall devote full time to the duties of the Office of State Public Defender and may not engage in the private practice of law. (b) The State Public Defender shall draft, and the Commission shall approve and publish, standards for trial-level public defense to guarantee the right of indigent defendants to the assistance of counsel as provided under the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The standards shall include, but are not limited to: (1) maximum workloads for felony, misdemeanor, traffic, juvenile, and post-conviction cases to be handled by attorneys who provide public defense services; (2) minimum staffing levels for non-attorney staff, such as investigators, mitigators, social workers, and administrative support staff; (3) supervision and experience standards relative to case complexity; (4) requirements to ensure that attorneys providing public defense services are independent, free of conflicts of interest, and free of economic disincentives or incentives that impair defense counsel's ability to provide effective representation; (5) sufficient private office space, located at or near the courthouse where the public defender practices, and videoconferencing technology, to allow attorney-client confidentiality to be safeguarded for meetings between public defenders and their clients; (6) adequate resources for expert witnesses, trial technology, investigation expenses, and any other case-related needs; (7) continuous representation by one attorney throughout the pendency of the case to the extent possible; and (8) ongoing, systematic evaluation of each public defense agency. (c) The Commission shall approve or modify an operational budget and the Public Defender Fund expenditures submitted to the Commission by the State Public Defender. (d) The Commission may remove the State Public Defender only for cause and after a hearing. The Commission may hold such a hearing on the Commission's own motion and may adopt rules establishing other procedures for the hearing. (e) The State Public Defender shall submit reports to the Commission on the operation of the Office of State Public Defender at each quarterly meeting. The State Public Defender shall submit a comprehensive report to the Commission at the end of each fiscal year. The Commission may require the State Public Defender to submit additional or amended reports on any aspect of the operation of the Office of State Public Defender.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 104-300, eff. 1-1-27.)