Louisiana

Indigent Defense Assistance Board

Minutes of the Board Meeting

3 December 1998

New Orleans, Louisiana

Stone Pigman Law Firm

Members Present: Risley C. Triche, Chair; Thomas A. Casey, Vice-Chair; Michelle Ghetti; Addison K. Goff, IV; and Wayne Lee.

Ex Officio Members Present: Anthony Champagne.

Staff Present: Jelpi P. Picou, Jr. and Marsha Oliver.

Guest Present: James H. Looney, Esq.

Call to Order and Opening Remarks. The meeting was called to order at 1:09 p.m. by the Chair, who welcomed members to the meeting of the Indigent Defense Assistance Board; roll call demonstrated that a quorum was present.

Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting. Mr. Lee moved that the minutes of the October 8, 1998 meeting be approved. Ms. Ghetti seconded the motion, which passed without objection.

Report on the Louisiana Appellate Project. James Looney, Director of the Louisiana Appellate Project, was invited to address the board on the project's involvement in the representation of indigent clients on appeal from felony convictions. Mr. Looney explained the structure of the Project and indicated that 36 of the 41 judicial districts participated in the program, which used a network of 25 attorneys around the state to handle indigent felony appeals. Mr. Looney addressed board members’ questions concerning the transfer of cases from district offices to the project, the involvement of trial counsel in initial reviews of records, the communication between appellate attorneys and their clients and concerns about the quality of the work being done by the project.

Review of LIDAB Programs. The staff reviewed the capital, expert, and district assistance fund programs, noting that the Board was within budget for each of these programs. It was reported that the capital program was no longer accepting new cases until some of those being handled were completed, that the expert witness program was within reach of last year's expenditures (based on budget projections), and that the next round of grants in the District Assistance Fund Program were scheduled to be completed before the end of the year.

The staff gave an update on the capital post-conviction representation situation and noted that the problem, due to lack of funding, was getting progressively worse. The members of the board reiterated the position taken at the previous meeting that the staff should continue to monitor the situation, report back to the board, and investigate alternative funding sources.

Staff Update. The staff informed the board that it was meeting with the Annie E. Casey Foundation to discuss the funding of an assessment on juvenile defense services in Louisiana. The staff also stated that it was in the process of preparing an application for funding for a post-conviction attorney through the American Bar Association's Post Conviction Committee and that the application would be submitted prior to the end of the year. Finally, the staff noted that it was participating with the Vera Institute of Justice to develop a training manual for public defender managers and was due to make several presentations at the National Legal Aid and Defender Association's annual meeting in December.

Other Business. The staff noted that it had been contacted by the Chair of the Orleans Indigent Defender Program concerning that program's dire financial situation. It was estimated that the program could, conservatively, fall $70,000 short on its budget for the year. Mr. Hall recommended that the staff take this threat seriously and to further update the board as circumstances arose.

The board also took up the matter of scheduling future meetings. It was decided that the following schedule would be set in place for the remainder of the fiscal year:

January 14, 1999 – In New Orleans at Stone, Pigman Law Firm

March 11, 1999 -- Location to be announced

May 13, 1999 -- Location to be announced

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