Florida Senate - 2014 CONFERENCE COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2510
Ì878310{Î878310
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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Floor: AD/CR .
05/02/2014 03:27 PM .
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The Conference Committee on SB 2510 recommended the following:
1 Senate Conference Committee Amendment (with title
2 amendment)
3
4 Delete everything after the enacting clause
5 and insert:
6 Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 27.40, Florida
7 Statutes, is amended to read:
8 27.40 Court-appointed counsel; circuit registries; minimum
9 requirements; appointment by court.—
10 (3) In using utilizing a registry:
11 (a) The chief judge of the circuit shall compile a list of
12 attorneys in private practice, by county and by category of
13 cases, and provide the list to the clerk of court in each
14 county. The chief judge of the circuit may restrict the number
15 of attorneys on the general registry list. To be included on a
16 registry, an attorney must attorneys shall certify that he or
17 she:
18 1. Meets That they meet any minimum requirements
19 established by the chief judge and by general law for court
20 appointment;
21 2. Is That they are available to represent indigent
22 defendants in cases requiring court appointment of private
23 counsel; and
24 3. Is That they are willing to abide by the terms of the
25 contract for services; and
26 4. Whether they are willing to accept as full payment the
27 flat fees prescribed in s. 27.5304, notwithstanding the
28 provisions of s. 27.5304(12), except for cases brought under the
29 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and capital
30 cases as defined in s. 27.5304(5)(a)4.
31
32 To be included on a registry, an attorney also must enter into a
33 contract for services with the Justice Administrative
34 Commission. Failure to comply with the terms of the contract for
35 services may result in termination of the contract and removal
36 from the registry. Each attorney on the registry is shall be
37 responsible for notifying the clerk of the court and the Justice
38 Administrative Commission of any change in his or her status.
39 Failure to comply with this requirement is shall be cause for
40 termination of the contract for services and removal from the
41 registry until the requirement is fulfilled. In addition to
42 general registries, the chief judge may establish limited
43 registries that include only those attorneys willing to waive
44 compensation in excess of the flat fee prescribed in s. 27.5304,
45 notwithstanding the provisions of s. 27.5304(12).
46 (b) The court shall appoint attorneys in rotating order in
47 the order in which names appear on the applicable registry,
48 unless the court makes a finding of good cause on the record for
49 appointing an attorney out of order. If a chief judge
50 establishes a limited registry of attorneys willing to waive
51 compensation in excess of the flat fee, the court shall appoint
52 attorneys from that limited registry unless there are no
53 attorneys available to accept the appointment on the limited
54 registry. The clerk of court shall maintain the registry and
55 provide to the court the name of the attorney for appointment.
56 An attorney not appointed in the order in which his or her name
57 appears on the list shall remain next in order.
58 (c) If the number of attorneys on the registry in a county
59 or circuit for a particular category of cases is inadequate, the
60 chief judge of the particular circuit shall provide to the clerk
61 of court the names of at least three private attorneys who have
62 relevant experience. The clerk of court shall send an
63 application to each of these attorneys to register for
64 appointment.
65 (d) Quarterly, each chief judge shall provide a current
66 copy of each registry to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,
67 the state attorney and public defender in each judicial circuit,
68 the office of criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, the
69 clerk of court in each county, and the Justice Administrative
70 Commission. The registry shall be provided to the Justice
71 Administrative Commission in the form and manner provided by the
72 commission Circuits utilizing a limited registry list as allowed
73 by paragraph (a) shall include the race, gender, and national
74 origin of all attorneys listed in and appointed under the
75 limited registry.
76 Section 2. Section 27.401, Florida Statutes, is created to
77 read:
78 27.401 Cross-Circuit Conflict Representation Pilot
79 Program.-
80 (1) The Cross-Circuit Conflict Representation Pilot Program
81 is established in the offices of the public defender in the
82 Tenth and Thirteenth Judicial Circuits and the office of the
83 criminal conflict and civil regional counsel in the Fifth
84 Region.
85 (2) Notwithstanding ss. 27.40 and 27.5305:
86 (a) If the public defender in the Tenth Judicial Circuit is
87 unable to provide representation to an indigent defendant
88 charged with a crime under s. 782.04(2), (3), or (4) due to a
89 conflict of interest and the criminal conflict and civil
90 regional counsel of the Second Region is also unable to provide
91 representation for the case due to a conflict of interest, the
92 public defender in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit shall be
93 appointed. If the public defender in the Thirteenth Judicial
94 Circuit is unable to provide representation for the case due to
95 a conflict of interest, the criminal conflict and civil regional
96 counsel in the Fifth Region shall be appointed. If the criminal
97 conflict and civil regional counsel in the Fifth Region is
98 unable to provide representation due to a conflict of interest,
99 private counsel shall be appointed.
100 (b) If the public defender in the Thirteenth Judicial
101 Circuit is unable to provide representation to an indigent
102 defendant charged with a crime under s. 782.04(2), (3), or (4)
103 due to a conflict of interest and the criminal conflict and
104 civil regional counsel of the Second Region is also unable to
105 provide representation for the case due to a conflict of
106 interest, the public defender in the Tenth Judicial Circuit
107 shall be appointed. If the public defender in the Tenth Judicial
108 Circuit is unable to provide representation for the case due to
109 a conflict of interest, the criminal conflict and civil regional
110 counsel in the Fifth Region shall be appointed. If the criminal
111 conflict and civil regional counsel in the Fifth Region is
112 unable to provide representation due to a conflict of interest,
113 private counsel shall be appointed.
114 (3) The offices of the public defender in the Tenth and
115 Thirteenth Judicial Circuits and the office of the criminal
116 conflict and civil regional counsel in the Fifth Region shall
117 each provide a report on the implementation of the pilot program
118 to the chairs of the legislative appropriations committees by
119 March 1, 2015, and by March 1, 2016. At a minimum, the reports
120 must include the number of cases transferred across circuits,
121 the advantages and disadvantages of cross-circuit
122 representation, the estimated cost savings of the pilot program,
123 and recommendations to improve the pilot program. The Justice
124 Administrative Commission shall provide data to assist with the
125 estimated cost savings of the pilot program.
126 (4) The Cross-Circuit Conflict Representation Pilot Program
127 shall expire on June 30, 2016, unless otherwise provided by law.
128 However, appointments made pursuant to this section before June
129 30, 2016, shall continue until completion of the case.
130 Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) and paragraphs
131 (f) through (h) of subsection (12) of section 27.5304, Florida
132 Statutes, are amended to read:
133 27.5304 Private court-appointed counsel; compensation;
134 notice.—
135 (5) The compensation for representation in a criminal
136 proceeding shall not exceed the following:
137 (a)1. For misdemeanors and juveniles represented at the
138 trial level: $1,000.
139 2. For noncapital, nonlife felonies represented at the
140 trial level: $6,000 $2,500.
141 3. For life felonies represented at the trial level: $9,000
142 $3,000.
143 4. For capital cases represented at the trial level:
144 $25,000 $15,000. For purposes of this subparagraph, a “capital
145 case” is any offense for which the potential sentence is death
146 and the state has not waived seeking the death penalty.
147 5. For representation on appeal: $9,000 $2,000.
148 (12) The Legislature recognizes that on rare occasions an
149 attorney may receive a case that requires extraordinary and
150 unusual effort.
151 (f) For criminal cases only, if the court orders payment in
152 excess of the flat fee established by law, fees shall be paid as
153 follows:
154 1. The flat fee shall be paid from funds appropriated to
155 the Justice Administrative Commission in the General
156 Appropriations Act.
157 2. The amount ordered by the court in excess of the flat
158 fee shall be paid by the Justice Administrative Commission in a
159 special category designated for that purpose in the General
160 Appropriations Act.
161 3. If, during the fiscal year, all funds designated in the
162 special category for payment under subparagraph 2. of the amount
163 ordered by the court in excess of the flat fee are spent, the
164 amount of payments in excess of the flat fee shall be made from
165 the due process contingency funds, or other funds as necessary,
166 appropriated to the Justice Administrative Commission state
167 courts system in the General Appropriations Act. Funds from the
168 state courts system must be used in a manner approved by the
169 Chief Justice and administered by the Trial Court Budget
170 Commission.
171 (g) The Justice Administrative Commission shall provide to
172 the Office of the State Courts Administrator monthly data by
173 statewide uniform case number, attorney, and defendant name
174 concerning:
175 1. Private court-appointed cases opened;
176 2. Cases paid and the amount of payment, including any
177 amount in excess of the flat fee; and
178 3. Cases for which compensation was waived.
179 (g)(h) The Justice Administrative Commission shall provide
180 monthly to the Office of the State Courts Administrator data
181 concerning the number of cases approved for compensation in
182 excess of the flat fee and the amount of these awards by circuit
183 and by judge. The Justice Administrative Commission shall report
184 the data quarterly in an electronic format to the chairs of the
185 legislative appropriations committees and the Office of the
186 State Courts Administrator.
187 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.
188
189 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
190 And the title is amended as follows:
191 Delete everything before the enacting clause
192 and insert:
193 A bill to be entitled
194 An act relating to court-appointed counsel; amending
195 s. 27.40, F.S.; eliminating the limited registry for
196 private counsel willing to accept a flat fee; creating
197 s. 27.401, F.S.; establishing the Cross-Circuit
198 Conflict Representation Pilot Program in specified
199 offices of the public defender and criminal conflict
200 and civil regional counsel; providing requirements for
201 appointment of counsel in the circuits and region
202 participating in the pilot program; requiring reports
203 to be submitted by specified dates; requiring the
204 Justice Administrative Commission to provide specified
205 data; providing for future expiration of the pilot
206 program; amending s. 27.5304, F.S.; increasing the
207 statutory caps for certain flat fees in criminal
208 cases; eliminating a requirement for the state courts
209 system to pay certain excess fees to court-appointed
210 counsel from court funds; providing for the Justice
211 Administrative Commission to make such payments from
212 specified funds appropriated to the commission;
213 eliminating a requirement for the commission to
214 provide certain data on cases involving court
215 appointed counsel and compensation of such counsel;
216 providing an effective date.