LOUISIANA INDIGENT DEFENDER BOARD

REGULAR BOARD MEETING

ONE AMERICAN PLACE, BATON ROUGE

FEBRUARY 10, 1995

MINUTES

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Thomas Casey, Chair; Dr. Ben Barron; Victor Bussie; Samuel S. Dalton; Timothy Daniels; Camille F. Gravel, Jr. (by proxy); Rebecca Hudsmith; Wayne J. Lee; Robert McLeod; Herman Robinson; Walter M. Sanchez, Vice-Chair; and Henry Walker.

STAFF PRESENT: Jean M. Faria, Chief Executive Officer and Jelpi P. Picou, Jr., Staff Director.

1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order by the Chair of the Board.

2. Roll Call. The Chair recognized the members of the Board present for the meeting. On the basis of these introductions, it was noted that a quorum was present.

3. Welcoming Remarks of the Chair. The Chair welcomed the members of the board and the staff and briefly reviewed the agenda for the meeting, explaining its purpose and scope. The Chair particularly welcomed Jean Faria, the Board's Chief Executive Officer, at the Board's first meeting of 1995.

4. Review of Actions of the Supreme Court. The Chair directed the staff to deliver a briefing on the actions of the Supreme Court regarding the Standards on Indigent Defense approved by the Board and forwarded to the Court for review. The staff noted that the Supreme Court had approved, without change, Chapters 1, 3, 6, 11 and 12 and the District Assistance Fund Criteria and Application.

The staff related that Chapters 7 and 8, dealing with the certification procedures for trial and appellate capital counsel and non-capital appellate counsel respectively, were temporarily held by the Court for further study. Following meetings with the Board and discussions with the staff, the Court approved the certification standards on the condition that the Board reconsider the requirement that two certified attorneys be required to represent a capital defendant on appeal. The members of the Rules Advisory Committee and the LIDB were contacted with the recommended change and responses were gathered by the staff. Those members of the Committee responding unanimously agreed that the recommended change was acceptable; the Board voted and adopted the recommended change. The Standard now requires the appointment of at least one certified capital appellate attorney and recommends that two attorneys be appointed in capital appeals.

In light of the Board's actions, all Chapters of the Louisiana Standards on Indigent Defense were reviewed and accepted by the Supreme Court. The staff added that arrangements had been made to have the Standards published in West's Southern Reporter.

5. Consideration of District Assistance Fund Applications. At the direction of the Chair, the Board considered the pending applications for grants under the District Assistance Fund. A total of $2,000,000 was available for grants, for which the Board received 26 eligible applications; the staff noted that the Seventeenth Judicial District Indigent Defender Board had forwarded the necessary data involved in the application process but was ineligible for assistance in light of that district's failure to assess the maximum court costs on convictions.

The Board discussed the overall success of the application process in providing better financial and caseload data than had been thus far available. Mr. Lee and Mr. Walker requested that the Board consider using the data to refine the grant program to more precisely address specific need in the various judicial districts. Mr. Dalton noted that while we have better data, a more uniform case tracking system needs to be agreed upon and developed in order for the Board to oversee the spending of any state funds given to the Board. There was general agreement with these points.

Mr. Bussie stated that the Board should consider approaching those districts which are eligible for funds from the DAF but did not apply. While the Board noted that at least $2,000,000 needed to be injected into the system as immediate relief to those districts in need, there was agreement that at least $100,000 should be retained and held for the second disbursement. Mr. Sanchez agreed with Mr. Bussie's comments and asked the Board to direct the staff to immediately look into the circumstances surrounding those districts which did not apply. The Board, in unanimous agreement, directed the staff to gather further information on those districts and encourage them to apply for funds.

Each application was discussed, with particular attention paid to the 2nd, 6th, 25th, and 35th districts. The staff noted that the applications were incomplete or needed revision to conform to the guidelines published by the Board. The Board discussed restricting the 2nd district's expenditures of state funds to expert witnesses, attorney support, and specialized training; the Board discussed making the disbursement to the 6th district contingent upon further financial information being supplied and its conformity with the Board's financial requirements; the Board discussed requiring a recalculation of the caseload and financial data in the 25th district prior to final approval of its request for funds; and the Board discussed making the disbursement to the 35th district contingent upon further financial information being supplied and its conformity with the Board's financial guidelines.

Following further discussion of the completed applications, Mr. Dalton moved that the requested disbursements be approved by the Board, with the restrictions noted above; Dr. Barron seconded the motion. Mr. Daniels wanted it made part of the record that the Board received warrants from the state each month and that the small amount of the total disbursement was directly due to the shortage of funds. Following further discussion, the Board approved, without objection, disbursements to the following district indigent defender boards: 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 18th, 19th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 27th, 28th, 32nd, 34th, 35th, 38th, 40th, and Orleans. A list of these districts and the approved disbursements is appended to these minutes.

6. Technical Assistance Requests. The Chair then directed the staff to give an update on the technical assistance requests, concerning the acquiring of Louisiana Death Penalty Manuals and the computer discs containing sample motions typically used in capital trials. The staff reported that it had received numerous calls requesting copies of the manual and discs and requested that the Board consider purchasing 50 copies of the manual and 40 copies of the discs for distribution to district boards demonstrating need. Upon inquiry from Ms. Hudsmith, the staff noted that the manuals and discs could be purchased at cost: $20 for each manual and $10 for each set of three discs. Mr. Walker moved and Ms. Hudsmith seconded that a total of $1,400 be made available for the purchase of the manuals and discs and that the staff be directed to accomplish the purchase. After discussion concerning the Board's oversight of the distribution of these items, the motion was passed without objection.

7. Schedule of Meetings of the Board for 1995. With permission of the Chair, the staff requested that the Board consider delegating to the Executive Committee of the LIDB the initial drafting of a meeting schedule for the remainder of fiscal year 1995. The staff explained that it believed the start of the legislative session would require meetings set in light of various committee and legislative meetings and that the Executive Committee could more efficiently propose a meeting schedule for the entire Board's consideration. With some discussion concerning the upcoming session, Mr. Bussie moved and Mr. Lee seconded that the Executive Committee be given authority to draft a preliminary meeting schedule for review by the Board. The motion passed without objection.

8. Proposed Changes in the Bylaws. Mr. Gravel, not present at the meeting but having sent a proxy, had previously raised to the Board the possibility of amending the Board's bylaws to allow a Board member to designate another Board member as his or her proxy and allow voting to be made without specific reference to the agenda item. The Chair directed the staff to brief the Board on Mr. Gravel's suggestion. Following the above briefing, the staff noted that with the Board's permission it would draft language in conformity with Mr. Gravel's recommendation for presentation at the next meeting of the Board. Mr. Daniels stated that in order to avoid problems with proxies outnumbering Board members, the proposed change should include a restriction that a Board member could execute only one proxy at any given meeting. This suggestion was accepted as sound and a motion was made by Mr. Daniels, with this restriction, that the staff be directed to carry out the Chair's instructions on this matter. The motion was seconded by Mr. Walker and passed without objection.

9. Other Business. With the Chair's permission, Mr. Bussie commented that Board members should be cognizant of the upcoming legislative session and should put some thought into approaching members of the legislature familiar to them to express concerns over continued funding for the Louisiana Indigent Defender Board. Mr. Bussie also requested that the staff prepare a briefing on the main issues which need to be addressed in the upcoming session and the Board's position on them. There was general discussion concerning the financial affairs of the state and the absolute need for further funding for the Board. Mr. Walker and Mr. McLeod both commented that the Board should pay particular attention to spending state funds on an informed and fair basis and on the continued monitoring of the state of indigent defense in Louisiana.

No other business was called to the attention of the Board.

10. Adjournment. After completion of business, a motion was made, seconded and adopted to adjourn.