LOUISIANA INDIGENT DEFENDER BOARD

 

                                        REGULAR BOARD MEETING

 

                                                 JONES WALKER

                                        BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

                                                     MAY 3, 1996

 

 

                                             MINUTES

 

 

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:  Thomas Casey, Chair; Dr. Ben Barron; Dorothy Briggs (by proxy); Victor Bussie (by proxy); Samuel Dalton; Timothy Daniels; Leah Guerry; Rebecca Hudsmith; Wayne Lee; Robert McLeod; Michael Small; Walter M. Sanchez, Vice-Chair; Sonja Spears, Secretary/Treasurer; and Henry Walker.

 

STAFF PRESENT:  Jean M. Faria, Chief Executive Officer and Jelpi Picou, Jr., Deputy Chief Executive Officer

 

          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, the proxy executed by Dorothy Briggs and given in favor of Walter Sanchez, and the proxy executed by Victor Bussie and given in favor of Walter Sanchez, and noted that a quorum was present.    

 

          3.  Welcoming Remarks of the Chair.  The Chair welcomed the members of the Board and the staff.  The Chair briefly reviewed the agenda for the meeting, explaining its purpose and scope.  Mr. Walker moved to approve the minutes of the Board's March 15, 1996 meeting.  Mr. Sanchez seconded the motion, which passed without opposition.

 

          4.  Review of Budget.  At the direction of the Chair, the staff reviewed the LIDB fiscal year 1995-1996 Budget Report through March 30, 1996.

 

          5.  Program Review: 

 

          A.  Capital Program:  The staff presented a review of the Capital Program.  The Board has funded in whole or in part 63 cases directly, 33 through block grants and 19 cases through capital conflicts panel, for a total of 115 cases.  The Board is currently funding three capital cases with capital consultation services.

 

          B.  Expert Witness\Testing Program.  The Board is currently funding 48 cases.  Two requests for assistance are currently awaiting processing for a total of 50 cases.

 

          D.  District Assistance Fund.  The third disbursement went out as planned.  The last disbursement will go out in the first week of June.

 

          E.  Non-Capital Appellate Program.  The Board had previously voted by mail to contract with Mr. James Looney to serve as executive director.  The contracts are being prepared and the appropriate paper work filed to establish the Louisiana Appellate Project, a not-for-profit organization. 

 

          6.  Staff Concerns.  

 

          A.  Additional Staff. The staff reported that there were numerous study projects, specifically in the juvenile justice area, which requires more research than the current staff can adequately handle.  The position would be filled by a lawyer who would supervise the student interns assisting in the juvenile justice project and other research projects.  The attorney would also provide assistance in various projects requiring research and reports and be answerable to the chief executive officer and the deputy chief executive officer.  The staff requested that no action be taken until the end of the fiscal year.

         

          The staff also informed the board that the growth in the programs requires additional secretarial support.  The current administrative assistant is needed as an office manager and the chief executive officer is in need of an administrative assistant to coordinate and schedule the CEO's workload.  The staff will return this matter to the Board assuming funding is secured for the next fiscal year.

 

          B.  Authorization for Out-of-State Travel.  The chief executive officer has been asked to participate in the Louisiana State Bar Association Criminal Law Section Meeting to discuss criminal justice issues.  The Board has previously approved the staff's participation in this forum.  The LSBA meeting is in Orange Beach, AL. 

 

          The Defender Management Conference of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association will be held June 14-16, 1996 in Baltimore, Maryland. 

 

          On motion of Mr. Sanchez, seconded by Mr. Small, the Board approved payment for out-of-state travel, accommodations and conference fees associated with these activities.

 

          7.  Indigency Report.  At the direction of the Chair, the staff presented the final policy questions which needed to be resolved prior to the completion of the Spangenberg indigency study.  Referring to the correspondence sent to Mr. Spangenberg and existing statutory law, Mr. Lee felt that the Board must take the position that any legislation issued by the Board should identify the category of "indigent but able to contribute."  Such a designation would allow courts to appoint counsel but require some reimbursement for use by the district indigent defender boards.

         

          The Board then discussed whether flat fees or a sliding fee scale for felonies and misdemeanors should be instituted.  After thorough discussion of the issue, Mr. Sanchez moved that the Board accept a flat fee, the amounts for which to be recommended by Mr. Spangenberg, subject to increase or decrease upon motion of the public defender or the trial court.  Mr. Small seconded the motion, which passed without opposition.

 

          The determination of indigency was discussed.  After visiting the policy issues the board decided that the draft statute should not include a presumption of indigence.  Additionally, it was decided that the draft statute should perpetuate existing statutory language, requiring the weighing of assets and expenses to make the final determination of indigence.  On motion of Mr. Sanchez, seconded by Ms. Spears, the Board decided unanimously to exclude a presumption of indigence and maintain the more complex structure of weighing assets and expenses in determining indigence.

 

          The final policy issue for Board decision concerning who should receive the locally generated funds was raised by Mr. Daniels.  Mr. McLeod shared the sentiment of the public defenders expressed at the last Rules Advisory Committee meeting, which was their steadfast refusal to support any legislation which would remove locally generated revenues from the local jurisdictions.  The Louisiana Public Defenders Association has voted to oppose any legislation which would remove locally generated revenues from the district indigent defender boards.  Mr. Spangenberg had suggested a compromise position of creating a dedicated state indigent defender fund which could tabulate and collect the monies and return them to the originating districts for accounting purposes.  After considering the LPDA opposition and the problems associated with creating a dedicated fund, Mr. Daniels moved that locally generated revenues remain with the district indigent defender boards.  The motion was seconded by Mr. Walker and passed without opposition.

 

          8.  Reports on Site Visits and Proposed Site Visits.  The staff was asked to review with the Board the site visit report which had been sent to the Board members with the Agenda.  Caldwell Parish has recently imposed the $25.00 court cost threshold and is now participating in the District Assistance Fund. 

 

          9.  Other Business.  At the direction of the Chair, the staff discussed a proposed amendment to the LIDB employment policies dealing with sick leave to allow pooling of staff sick leave and transfer to a designated staff member.  After discussion, Mr. Sanchez moved to adopt the policy, seconded by Mr. Walker.  The amendment passed with dissenting votes from Ms. Guerry and Mr. McLeod.

 

          It was announced that Mr. Picou had been invited by the National Legal Aid and Defender Association to become part of their editorial board. 

 

          7.  Adjournment.  After completion of business, a motion was made, seconded and adopted to adjourn until the June 14, 1996 meeting.