Louisiana

Indigent Defense Assistance Board

Minutes of the Board Meeting

12 February 1998

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Louisiana State Capitol, Press Room, Fourth Floor

Members Present: Thomas A. Casey, Acting Chair; Michelle Ghetti; Addison K. Goff, IV; Pike Hall, Jr.; P. Raymond Lamonica; and Robert P. McLeod.

Ex Officio Members Present: James E. Boren; Anthony Champagne; and Henry Walker.

Staff Present: Jelpi P. Picou, Jr. and Betty C. Lilley.

Guest Present: Rebecca Hudsmith.

Call to Order and Opening Remarks. The meeting was called to order at 1:04 p.m. by the Acting Chair, who welcomed members to the meeting of the Indigent Defense Assistance Board.

Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting. Mr. McLeod moved that the minutes of the January 14, 1998 meeting be approved. Mr. Goff seconded the motion, which passed without objection.

Committee Reports. At the direction of the Acting Chair, the committee chairs were called upon to make reports to the board.

Staffing & Contract Committee. Mr. McLeod, reporting for the committee in Mr. Lee's absence, noted that the committee had met and discussed the current contract with the Louisiana Appellate Project and reviewed the sample contracts presently used by the LIDAB for consultation and appeals.

The committee recommended to the Board that it ratify and adopt the obligation of the previous board in reference to the Louisiana Appellate Project. It was noted that the contract would be in force until the end of March 1998, at which time a new contract would be presented to the board for review. The committee also reported that the standard contracts being used were in order. The staff noted that contracts would be presented to the Office of Contract Review for final approval.

Mr. McLeod moved that the contract with the Louisiana Appellate Project be ratified and adopted and that the LIDAB assume the legal obligation of the previous board under this contract. This motion was seconded by Mr. Hall and passed without objection.

Budget & Finance Committee. Mr. Casey noted that the budget previously approved by the LIDAB remained in place. No adjustments needed to be recommended to the board because the Judicial Administrator of the Supreme Court had not provided a final accounting of the funds which were to be transferred to the LIDAB's budget from the first half of the fiscal year. The staff noted that it expected the final accounting to take place some time toward the end of February or early March.

Advisory Rules Committee. The staff distributed copies of the Administrative Procedures Act, a summary of that Act prepared by the chair of the committee, and copies of the rules regarding the District Assistance Fund, the Expert Witness/Testing Fund, and the Capital and Appellate Certification Programs.

There was general discussion among the board members concerning the process involved in the board's promulgation of rules. Ms. Ghetti explained that more research and preparation had to be done on the procedure and that she was concerned about whether the LIDAB needed to enact emergency rules to be in place prior to the final rules being prepared. Mr. Casey agreed that the board needed to consider carefully what rules needed to be formalized. Mr. Lamonica suggested that perhaps some of the procedures spelled out by the board could be done in the form of internal operating procedures, which would not require the process detailed in the Administrative Procedures Act.

The chair of the committee noted that she would gather more information in this area and that the committee would discuss it at its next meeting, to be held prior to the board's March meeting.

Post-Conviction Report. The staff distributed a short report on the capital post-conviction procedures and a review article on the new Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act. Rebecca Hudsmith, Chief Federal Public Defender for the Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana, was then recognized by the Acting Chair. Ms. Hudsmith gave an overview of the status of post-conviction proceedings, both federal and state, in Louisiana and asked the board to consider a mechanism whereby it could assist in providing counsel in capital post-conviction cases.

The staff noted that the LIDAB was authorized to provide defender services only where there was statutory or constitutional authority recognizing the necessity of counsel. It was brought out by Ms. Hudsmith, however, that the Supreme Court routinely appoints counsel to death row inmates prior to an actual post-conviction hearing and that perhaps an attorney is then entitled to payment for services.

It was the feeling of the board that more information needed to be collected on this issue and the staff was directed to continue collecting statistics and report back to the board.

Partial Indigency Report. The staff distributed a report on the issue of partial indigency, a draft statute prepared by the previous board, and an article detailing the issues presented in the pending case of State v. Jones. The staff then gave an overview of the issues facing district indigent defender boards as requests for funding are made by the private bar. It was the general recommendation of the board that the staff continue to monitor the situation and report back when a decision was handed down in State v. Jones.

Governmental Ethics Opinion Report. The staff distributed a copy of the letter requesting an opinion of the Governmental Ethics Board concerning the LIDAB's ex officio members contracting for services with district indigent defender boards. It was noted that the opinion was expected out by the end of February and would be reported on at the board's March meeting.

At this juncture in the meeting, Thomas A. Casey, Acting Chair, left for a previously-scheduled appointment. He appointed Pike Hall, Jr. to complete the meeting as Acting Chair.

Overview of State/District Contacts. The staff distributed a copy of a chart demonstrating the extent to which each district indigent defender board requests services and/or grant funding from the LIDAB and its predecessor board.

Other Business. The Acting Chair recognized the staff for two items of other business. It was noted that in the absence of Mr. Triche, the next board meeting should be held in Baton Rouge; the board members were in general agreement and the staff was directed to secure a meeting place. Lastly, the staff announced that the LIDAB's letterhead had been ordered and should be arriving early the following week.

Adjournment. There being no additional business brought to the attention of the Board, the Acting Chair entertained a motion to adjourn, which was seconded and passed without objection.