HB 1637

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to capital collateral representation;
3amending s. 27.709, F.S.; providing for the Commission on
4Capital Cases to undertake certain projects and
5authorizing it to sponsor certain continuing legal
6education classes; amending s. 27.710, F.S.; revising
7provisions relating to continuing legal education
8requirements for attorneys on the registry of attorneys
9applying to represent persons in postconviction capital
10collateral proceedings; providing for the removal of
11appointed attorneys who fail to sign contracts or submit
12specified reports; requiring an appointed attorney who
13does not wish to continue representation at the federal
14level to make reasonable efforts to assist the client in
15finding replacement counsel; amending s. 27.711, F.S.;
16providing for payment of attorneys after a final hearing,
17rather than after a final order; providing for additional
18payments to attorneys; increasing the maximum number of
19inmates that may be represented by a capital collateral
20attorney; providing an effective date.
21
22Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24     Section 1.  Subsection (2) of section 27.709, Florida
25Statutes, is amended to read:
26     27.709  Commission on Capital Cases.--
27     (2)  The commission shall:
28     (a)  The commission shall Review the administration of
29justice in capital collateral cases, receive relevant public
30input, review the operation of the capital collateral regional
31counsel and private counsel appointed pursuant to ss. 27.710 and
3227.711, and advise and make recommendations to the Governor,
33Legislature, and Supreme Court.
34     (b)  As part of its duties, the commission shall Compile
35and analyze case-tracking reports produced by the Supreme Court.
36In analyzing these reports, the commission shall develop
37statistics to identify trends and changes in case management and
38case processing, identify and evaluate unproductive points of
39delay, and generally evaluate the way cases are progressing. The
40commission shall report these findings to the Legislature by
41January 1 of each year.
42     (c)  In addition, the commission shall Receive complaints
43regarding the practice of any office of regional counsel and
44private counsel appointed pursuant to ss. 27.710 and 27.711 and
45shall refer any complaint to The Florida Bar, the State Supreme
46Court, or the Commission on Ethics, as appropriate.
47     (d)  Undertake any project recommended or approved by the
48appointed commission members.
49     (e)  Have the authority to sponsor continuing legal
50education training devoted specifically to capital cases.
51     Section 2.  Subsections (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5) of
52section 27.710, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
53     27.710  Registry of attorneys applying to represent persons
54in postconviction capital collateral proceedings; certification
55of minimum requirements; appointment by trial court.--
56     (1)  The executive director of the Commission on Capital
57Cases shall compile and maintain a statewide registry of
58attorneys in private practice who have certified that they meet
59the minimum requirements of s. 27.704(2), who are available for
60appointment by the court under this section to represent persons
61convicted and sentenced to death in this state in postconviction
62collateral proceedings, and who have attended at least 12 hours
63of continuing legal education within the last 2 years year a
64continuing legal education program of at least 10 hours'
65duration devoted specifically to the defense of capital cases,
66if available. Every 2 years, attorneys who satisfy the minimum
67requirements of s. 27.704(2) and who are handling a capital case
68shall be required to attend at least 12 hours of continuing
69legal education. Continuing legal education programs meeting the
70requirements of this rule offered by The Florida Bar or another
71recognized provider and approved for continuing legal education
72credit by The Florida Bar shall satisfy this requirement. The
73failure to comply with this requirement may be cause for removal
74from the list until the requirement is fulfilled. To ensure that
75sufficient attorneys are available for appointment by the court,
76when the number of attorneys on the registry falls below 50, the
77executive director shall notify the chief judge of each circuit
78by letter and request the chief judge to promptly submit the
79names of at least three private attorneys who regularly practice
80criminal law in that circuit and who appear to meet the minimum
81requirements to represent persons in postconviction capital
82collateral proceedings. The executive director shall send an
83application to each attorney identified by the chief judge so
84that the attorney may register for appointment as counsel in
85postconviction capital collateral proceedings. As necessary, the
86executive director may also advertise in legal publications and
87other appropriate media for qualified attorneys interested in
88registering for appointment as counsel in postconviction capital
89collateral proceedings. Not later than September 1 of each year,
90and as necessary thereafter, the executive director shall
91provide to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the chief
92judge and state attorney in each judicial circuit, and the
93Attorney General a current copy of its registry of attorneys who
94are available for appointment as counsel in postconviction
95capital collateral proceedings. The registry must be indexed by
96judicial circuit and must contain the requisite information
97submitted by the applicants in accordance with this section.
98     (2)  To be eligible for court appointment as counsel in
99postconviction capital collateral proceedings, an attorney must
100certify on an application provided by the executive director
101that he or she satisfies the minimum requirements for private
102counsel set forth in subsection (1) and s. 27.704(2).
103Satisfaction of the minimum requirements must be proven by
104written notification to the commission. The certification
105requirement shall be satisfied upon the submission of the
106application by electronic mail without a signature.
107     (3)  An attorney who applies for registration and court
108appointment as counsel in postconviction capital collateral
109proceedings must certify that he or she is counsel of record in
110not more than four such proceedings and, if appointed to
111represent a person in postconviction capital collateral
112proceedings, shall continue such representation under the terms
113and conditions set forth in s. 27.711 until the sentence is
114reversed, reduced, or carried out or unless permitted to
115withdraw from representation by the trial court. The court may
116not permit an attorney to withdraw from representation without a
117finding of sufficient good cause. The court may impose
118appropriate sanctions if it finds that an attorney has shown bad
119faith with respect to continuing to represent a defendant in a
120postconviction capital collateral proceeding. This section does
121not preclude the court from reassigning a case to a capital
122collateral regional counsel following discontinuation of
123representation if a conflict of interest no longer exists with
124respect to the case.
125     (4)  Each private attorney who is appointed by the court to
126represent a capital defendant must enter into a contract with
127the Chief Financial Officer. If the appointed attorney fails to
128execute the contract within 30 days after the date the contract
129is mailed to the attorney, the executive director of the
130Commission on Capital Cases shall notify the trial court. If the
131attorney fails to execute the contract within 30 days after the
132executive director's notification, the trial court shall remove
133the attorney from the case, and the executive director shall
134remove the attorney from the registry without awarding any
135attorney's fees. The Chief Financial Officer shall develop the
136form of the contract, function as contract manager, and enforce
137performance of the terms and conditions of the contract. By
138signing such contract, the attorney certifies that he or she
139intends to continue the representation under the terms and
140conditions set forth in the contract until the sentence is
141reversed, reduced, or carried out or until released by order of
142the trial court. Additionally, the attorney shall agree to
143submit quarterly reports to the Commission on Capital Cases in a
144consistent format designated by the commission. If the appointed
145attorney fails to submit a quarterly report within 30 days
146following the end of the quarter, the executive director shall
147notify the trial court and the attorney. If the attorney does
148not submit the requested quarterly report within 30 days after
149the executive director's notice, the attorney shall be removed
150from the case by the trial court and from the registry by the
151executive director.
152     (5)(a)  Upon the motion of the capital collateral regional
153counsel to withdraw pursuant to s. 924.056(1)(a); or
154     (b)  Upon notification by the state attorney or the
155Attorney General that:
156     1.  Thirty days have elapsed since appointment of the
157capital collateral regional counsel and no entry of appearance
158has been filed pursuant to s. 924.056; or
159     2.  A person under sentence of death who was previously
160represented by private counsel is currently unrepresented in a
161postconviction capital collateral proceeding,
162
163the executive director shall immediately notify the trial court
164that imposed the sentence of death that the court must
165immediately appoint an attorney, selected from the current
166registry, to represent such person in collateral actions
167challenging the legality of the judgment and sentence in the
168appropriate state and federal courts. If the appointed attorney
169does not wish to continue representation at the federal level,
170the appointed attorney shall make reasonable efforts to assist
171the client in finding replacement counsel who meets the federal
172requirements to represent a capital defendant in federal
173proceedings. The court shall have the authority to strike a
174notice of appearance filed by a Capital Collateral Regional
175Counsel, if the court finds the notice was not filed in good
176faith and may so notify the executive director that the client
177is no longer represented by the Office of Capital Collateral
178Regional Counsel. In making an assignment, the court shall give
179priority to attorneys whose experience and abilities in criminal
180law, especially in capital proceedings, are known by the court
181to be commensurate with the responsibility of representing a
182person sentenced to death. The trial court must issue an order
183of appointment which contains specific findings that the
184appointed counsel meets the statutory requirements and has the
185high ethical standards necessary to represent a person sentenced
186to death.
187     Section 3.  Paragraphs (c) and (g) of subsection (4) and
188subsections (7) and (9) of section 27.711, Florida Statutes, are
189amended, and paragraph (i) is added to subsection (4) of said
190section, to read:
191     27.711  Terms and conditions of appointment of attorneys as
192counsel in postconviction capital collateral proceedings.--
193     (4)  Upon approval by the trial court, an attorney
194appointed to represent a capital defendant under s. 27.710 is
195entitled to payment of the following fees by the Chief Financial
196Officer:
197     (c)  The attorney is entitled to $100 per hour, up to a
198maximum of $20,000, after the final hearing on trial court
199issues a final order granting or denying the capital defendant's
200motion for postconviction relief.
201     (g)  At the conclusion of the capital defendant's
202postconviction capital collateral proceedings in state court,
203the attorney is entitled to $100 per hour, up to a maximum of
204$2,500, after filing a petition for writ of habeas corpus
205pursuant to 28 U.S.C. s. 2254 certiorari in the Supreme Court of
206the United States.
207     (i)  The attorney is entitled to $100 per hour, up to a
208maximum of $16,000, as a supplement to attorney's fees in
209paragraphs (a)-(h) if those paragraphs do not provide adequate
210compensation.
211
212The hours billed by a contracting attorney under this subsection
213may include time devoted to representation of the defendant by
214another attorney who is qualified under s. 27.710 and who has
215been designated by the contracting attorney to assist him or
216her.
217     (7)  Each registry An attorney handling at least one
218capital case, regardless of the total number of capital
219defendants he or she is representing, who is actively
220representing a capital defendant is entitled to a maximum of
221$500 per fiscal year for tuition and expenses for continuing
222legal education that pertains to the representation of capital
223defendants. Upon approval by the trial court, the attorney is
224entitled to payment by the Chief Financial Officer for expenses
225for such tuition and continuing legal education.
226     (9)  An attorney may not represent more than 10 inmates
227five defendants in capital postconviction litigation at any one
228time.
229     Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.