27.511 states, "Assistant regional counsel shall give priority and preference to their duties as assistant regional counsel and may not otherwise engage in the practice of criminal law or in civil proceedings for which the state compensates attorneys for representation."
The goal of this language was to prevent a part-time assistant regional counsel from also accepting cases from the court-appointed counsel registry. Court appointed cases are the State compensated representation the statute is addressing. The State is already compensating an assistant regional counsel for this service and the purpose of the registry is not to be used as further compensation for assistant regional counsel. This language is not a bar to privately retained, non-state compensated, cases so long as the assistant regional counsel gives priority and preference to their duties as an ARC. You can be a private attorney and accept registry appointments and be paid through JAC or you can be a assistant regional counsel working part-time and accept privately retained cases so long as your duties as assistant regional counsel are given priority. It is up to the Regional Counsel's to decide whether they want full or part-time employees. Given the large area to be covered in the Second District I will be offering part-time employment especially in counties with 3 or fewer Judges. The more densely populated areas will be better served by full-time employees.
"Contract attorneys" can be obtained by Regional Counsel for any purpose whether it be a dependency case or a death penalty appeal. Our budget category for these services however is very small. The Legislature clearly intended to create an employee model and not a contract model. Most of the budget is for employee salary and benefits. Fortunately the statute does allow assistant regional counsel to engage in the private practice of, non state compensated, law so long as priority is given to their public duties. As an employee, even part-time, you will also be eligible for all state benefits. This is not available to a contract attorney.
Jack Flyte
Regional Counsel, Second District
Ed: Does that clear it up?
2 comments:
What happens in a depedency situation where you have two kids one mother and two fathers, I assume office of regional counsel can only represent one parent. If so, who is in charge of making sure there is a list of available attorneys for the court and that the list will be utilized fairly?
The first part of your question is a good one, and I haven't found anyone willing to give me an answer yet. If we wait for the Regional Counsel to determine the conflicts, one imagines that won't happen until after the shelter hearing, then you have one parent with counsel and others without.
As for the second part of the question, it will be up to the circuit judges to make sure that a list is maintained and rotated in a fair manner.
Incidentally, I see news reports and opinions about appointments being fair, but have never run across the slightest hint that anyone who actually does this work thinks that rotations are not fairly distributed.
Post a Comment