6 12 09 las vegas municipal court indigent defense plan 09-31723

7/27/2019 6 12 09 Las Vegas Municipal Court Indigent Defense Plan 09-31723

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FILELas Vegas M unicipal ourt

J U N Z 9To NDEm N

BY A 4 4AA01;D E P U T Y C L E R K

In response to the Supreme C ourt Order dated January 4, 2008 ti tled, IN T HE MAT T ER OF T HER E V IE W O F I SS U E S C O NC E R N I N G R E P R E S E N T A T I ON O F I N D I GE N T D E F E N D A NT S I NC R I M IN AL A N D J U V E N I L E D E L I NQ U E N C Y C A S E ST he L as Vegas Municipal C ourt (LVMC ) hereby submits the following Administrative P lan for theselection of attorneys to represent Indigent Misdemeano r D efendants and the process for thedetermination of a D efendant's Indigence:

Indigent Defense dministrative PlanI . T he C ity of Las Vegas Finance & Business Services Purchasing & C ontracts D ivision(Purchasing) in conjunction with C ity of L as Vegas Human R esources (HR ) D epartment willissue a R equest for Proposal (R F P ) for the representation of indigent defendants for all mattersbefore the L as Vegas Municipal C ourt (LC MC ).

a) P ublic Attorney C ontracts will be offered for each L VM C department with no limitation onthe numbeiHof contracts an individual applicant may apply for or be awarded.(1) C ontract will be awarded at a fixed annual price as determined by the C ity of Las Vegas

City Council.

2. Independent Selection C omm ittee will determine who is awarded the individual P ublic Attorneycontracts. Selection C omm ittee will be comprised of 5 m embers wh o will make the finaldetermination relative to the awarding of any Municipal C ourt Indigent R epresentationcontracts, including mid-cycle replacements should a vacancy occur.a) C ommittee,will include representatives from: T he F ederal Public D efender office, C ountyP ublic D efender office, Nevada State Bar, C riminal Justice Association (attorney group) andthe C ity of Las Vegas C ity Manager's office.h) C ourt/judicial input relative to potential conflicts of interest, may be provided prior to theselection comm ittee's review, how ever, no judicial pre-empt and/or veto of any selection is

permitted.c) C omm ittee to be constituted by July 1, 2008 , with first order of business to establish theirrules .

3. C ity of Las Vegas P urchasing & HR to have responsibility for all Administrative functionsincluding:a) Establishing the Scope of Work and Issuing the Request for Proposals.b) C onducting initial review/interview of all applicant firms to ensure they meet all basiccriteria (as established by the Supreme C ourt Order and LV MC ) before submitting all

qualified applicants to the independent Selection C omm ittee .Page] ofLVMC Administrative PlanD ated 4/23/08 (Determination of Indigence, Exhibits A & B revised 6-8-09)

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c) W riting and Issuing Public Attorney contract(s) and ensuring that all m andated licenses,proof of insurance, etc., are obtained.d) Ensuring that all individual indigent defense attorneys em ployed by the firm(s) awarded aPublic Attorney contract meet all LVM C and S upreme C ourt Order eligibility criteria bothat contract issuance and throughout term of contract.e) Conducting periodic audits to ensure contract compliance.f) Payment.

4. Minimum Qualifications for Attorneys/Firms awarded a contract:a) 1M Liability/Malpractice Insurance.b) Experience- Three (3) years or m ore of criminal experience required for all attorneyssupporting the contract.c) Adm inistrative plan to be subm itted as part of application process detailing how the PublicAttorney w ill provide appropriate service levels to the department(s) they are aw arded,

including how they will fill attorney staff vacancies (vacation, illness, etc.).d) List of all attorneys who w ill practice in the courtroom subm itted and approved by theselection com mittee as p art of application process.e) Changes to approved attorney list supporting the contract must be approved by the SelectionCom mittee prior to practicing in the courtroom.

(1) Emergency attorney substitution- name must be subm itted within a reasonable periodof time.5. Scope of W ork to be included in the Request for Proposal will:

a) Be developed by a com mittee appointed by the Las Vegas M unicipal Court and the LasVegas City, Manager's Office.b) Include full professional defense for all d efendants entitled to indigent representation

c) Include Traffic Court indigent representation as appropriated) Include ppealse) Assure com pliance with all Supreme Court O rders and Performance Standards relative tothe representation of indigent defendan ts

Page 2 of 5LVMC Administrative F'lariDated 4/23/08 (Deterinination of Indigence, Exhibits A & B revised 6-8-09)


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Las Vegas Municipal Court Plan for the Determination of Indigence1. Defendant not in custody:

(a) The defendant appears in the courtroom, is facing jail time and states that theycanno t afford legal counsel for their defense.(b) The defendant completes the Declaration, and if the Court determines from the

Declaration that the defendant qualifies under the Presumptive ThresholdStandard as established by Nevada Supreme Court ADKT 411, a PublicAttorney is assigned to the case and represe nts the defendan t.

(c) If a more rigorous screening is indicated or ordered, the completed D eclaration isforwarded within 2 business days to the Las Vegas Municipal Court JudicialEnforcement Unit (JEU) for processing.

(d) If the defendant disputes a finding of non-qualification for indigent status andcourt appointed counsel, or the Declaration has discretionary aspects that cannotbe resolved by a mo re rigorous review,(e) The case may be continued for a hearing or other action as determined by theCourt.

2. Defendan t in cu tody:(a) Defendants are presumed to be indigent if they are in custody.

*Determination of Indigence Exhibits A & B attached:

Page 3 of 5LVMC Administrative PlanDated 4/23/08 Determination of Indigence, Exhibits A 13 revised 6-8-09)


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Exhibit

LAS VEGAS MUNICIPAL COURTDECLARATION AND APPLICATION FOR COURT-APPOINTED COUNSEL

Case/History No.'YOUR NAM E ocial Security Num berY O U R A D D RES S Where you l ive?

City/State/Zip C odeHOME PHONE ( ) ELL PHONE (WORK PHONE ( 1 )Do you live in Public Housing? re you serving a jail sentence?PERSON L INFORM TIONNumber of children, dependants or others you are lega lly responsible for living in your hom e:Where do you work?How m uch do you m ake monthly before taxes and anything else is taken out of your pay check:Other m onthly Income (W ife/Husband, Partner, Co-habitant, other):I and/or my fam ily are currently receiving the following:AFDC 0 Unemployment 0 Worker s Comp 0 Food Stamps 0 SSI 0 Medicaid 0Other Public Assistance (Type)

am saying that I cannot afford to hire anattorney. If a crime is Charged ag ainst me and the City Attorney is seeking for me to serve t ime in jail and I cannotafford to hire an attorney; the court may appoint an attorney only under certain circumstances.I have given the above information to see if an attorney can be appointed by the court to represent me in court. Iunderstand that this information may be used to see if I can pay for an attorney to represent me in court. I amgiving my permission to contact any credit bureau, review my credit report from any credit bureau, investigativeagency or any other Source. I authorize the Las Vegas Municipal Court to verify any statements made and ,information provided and obtain any other information needed. I declare under penalty of perjury that theinformation that has been given is true and correct. I understand that I might have to pay back all or a part of theattorney fees if it is found that I can pa y.

SIGN YOUR NAME atePage 4 of 5I.VMC Administrative Plan ,Dated 4/23/08 (Determination of Indigence, Exhibits A B revised 6-8-09)


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Exhibit B

2 9 HHS Poverty Guidelines

Persons overty Guidelines at 200%in Family or Household ederal Poverty Guidelines' Presumptive Threshold asestablished by ADKT 411)

10,830 21,66014,570 29,14018,310 36,620; 4 ' 22,050 44,10025,790 51,58029,530 59,06033,270 66,540037,010 74,020For each additionalperon, add 3,740 7,480

SOURCE: Federal Re gister, Vol. 74, No. 14, January 23, 2009, pp.4199-

Note: The Federal Poverty guidelines are recalculated and published annually.A defendant is considered indigent if all gross income is less than the Presumptive Threshold as

established by Nevada Supreme Court ADKT 411 at 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.Page 5 of 5LVMC Administrative PlanDated 4/23/08 (Determination'of Indigence, Exhibits A & B revised 6-8-09)

6 12 09 las vegas municipal court indigent defense plan 09-31723

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