LOUISIANA INDIGENT DEFENDER BOARD

 

                                                BOARD MEETING

 

                                       PHELPS DUNBAR LAW FIRM

                                        BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

                                                 September 19, 1997

 

 

                                             MINUTES

 

 

 

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:  Thomas A. Casey, Chair;  Dr. Ben Barron; Victor Bussie (by proxy); Samuel S. Dalton; Tim Daniels; Leah Guerry (by proxy); Rebecca Hudsmith; Wayne J. Lee (by proxy); Robert McLeod, Vice-Chair;  Sonja Spears, Secretary-Treasurer; and Henry Walker.

 

STAFF PRESENT:  Jelpi P. Picou, Jr.; Philip Hantel.

 

GUEST PRESENT: G. Paul Marx; Tommy Alonzo; Lawrence Beo; Jerry Block; David Balfour.     

 

          Call to Order, Opening Remarks, Roll Call.  The meeting was called to order by the Chair of the Board.  The Chair recognized the members of the Board present for the meeting and noted the proxies executed by Leah Guerry and Victor Bussie in favor of Thomas Casey and the proxy of Wayne Lee in favor of Robert McLeod.  It was noted that a quorum was present.

 

          Approval of August 22, 1997 Minutes.  Upon the motion of Mr. Walker, seconded by Mr. Dalton, the minutes of the previous meeting were approved without amendments.

 

          Budget and Program Review.  The staff presented a budget review of the Board's spending on each established program and administrative expenses.  Mr. McLeod inquired about specific spending amounts in the capital and expert witness programs.  The staff noted that expenditures in the Expert Witness/Testing Program were up from the previous fiscal year, but were still approximately 10% below budgeted amounts.  The Capital Program exceeded expectations by approximately 15%, with overages seen as a result of two involved cases.  The expenditures for all programs were within budget.  Upon the motion of Dr. Barron and the second of Mr. Walker, the financial report was accepted by the Board.

 

          The staff then presented the FY 97-98 District Assistance Fund Grant Formula, which is based on the caseload, jury trials, and income of the 41 judicial districts.  After discussion about the distributions, the Board approved the formula amounts following a motion by Mr. Daniels and a second by Mr. Walker.

 

          Eighth Amendment Project.  G. Paul Marx and other guests were allowed to present a grant request for the Eighth Amendment Project, a copy of which was provided to board members prior to the meeting.  The project was requesting funds to handle capital cases in a specific geographical area of the state and consult on a number of cases inside and outside this area.  Each member of the project made a presentation and answered questions posed by the board.

 

          In addition to questions concerning the handling of cases by the project, the board discussed the issues of acting on the proposed grant prior to the appointment of a new board on January 1, 1998, contract versus staff counsel to handle the cases, caseload requirements, support staff, and expenses of capital cases.

 

          There was a general consensus that it would be more economical to hire staff counsel, but that the LIDB was not in a position to undertake such a program.  It was also agreed that time and effort sheets should be required of all counsel in any project such as the one being considered.  The board then went into executive session to discuss the details of the proposal.

 

          Ending the executive session, Dr. Barron moved that the proposal be approved by the Board with the following directions to staff:  the grant be phased in on a case-by-case basis, that time and effort sheets be required and regularly monitored by staff, and that the final contract for the proposal be reviewed by the executive committee.  The motion was seconded by Mr. Dalton. Over the objection of Mr. McLeod, the motion passed.

 

          Update on OIDP Program Audit.  The staff reported that the Orleans Indigent Defender Program had selected The Spangenberg Group to perform an audit of its policies and procedures, with a target date of December 1, 1997 to issue a preliminary findings report.  The staff was directed to keep the Board informed on the progress of the review.

 

          Update on Juvenile Justice Issues.  The staff updated the board on the U.S. Department of Justice's investigation into the Louisiana Department of Corrections facilities housing juveniles.  The staff noted that it was in the process of developing a consortium of attorneys and interested individuals to address the most serious problems dealing with right to counsel and access to courts as they relate to juveniles in Louisiana.  The board, iterating a position outlined by Ms. Guerry at the previous meeting, directed the staff to continue investigating ways to educate the bar, the courts and the public about these problems.

 

          Update on Capital Post-Conviction Issues.  The staff reported that the Supreme Court had taken the Board's post-conviction proposal under consideration.  The court reviewed the proposal, a joint effort with the Louisiana State Bar Association's Post-Conviction committee and announced that it would made a decision within the month.

 

          Other business.  Mr. Daniels brought to the Board's attention that the Attorney General had issued an opinion which found that an individual could not simultaneously serve on a district indigent defender board and the LIDB.  The Board agreed that it should review the opinion and discuss whether a clarification or reconsideration should be requested.  The staff was directed to provide each member a copy of the opinion.

 

          Adjournment.  Having concluded business, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn.