La. Admin. Code tit. 22 § XV-1701

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section XV-1701 - Purpose, Findings and Intentions

A. On May 25, 2011, the legislative auditor issued a report entitled, "Louisiana District Public Defenders Compliance with Report Requirements." The report, prepared in accordance with R.S. 24:515.1.F, focused largely upon the fact that 28 of Louisiana's 42 district public defenders had expenditures that exceeded revenues during the 18-month period beginning January 1, 2009 and ending June 30, 2010.

The report explains, at p. 6, that:

[D]uring 2008 and 2009, the Louisiana Public Defender Board ("Board") received less money than it had requested during the budgeting/appropriations process. To preserve the state's public defender system, the Board reduced, and in some cases, eliminated state funding to local public defender districts that had positive fund balances. This allowed state funding to be directed to those districts with the greatest financial need. Twelve districts were required to use their fund balances to finance operations in 2008 and 28 districts were required to do so in 2009. It was a limited solution that allowed the continuation of the public defense system during lean economic times. At the same time, this seriously depleted most of the local districts' fund balances.

1. As a result of this spending pattern, the legislative auditor recommended that the board monitor the fiscal operations and financial position of all district defenders and, further, provide guidance to district defenders to ensure that districts do not spend more money than they collect. In order to comply with the legislative auditor's recommendation to provide guidance to public defenders to ensure that districts do not spend more funds than they receive, the board adopts this service restriction protocol.

B. The board recognizes that excessive caseloads affect the quality of representation being rendered by public defense service providers and thereby compromise the reliability of verdicts and threaten the conviction of innocent persons.

C. The board further recognizes that excessive caseloads impair the ability of public defense service providers to meet the ethical obligations imposed upon all attorneys, public and private, by the Rules of Professional Conduct. The board finds that by breaching the ethical obligations imposed by the Rules of Professional Conduct, a public defense service provider fails to satisfy the state's obligation to provide effective assistance of counsel to indigent defendants at each critical stage of the proceeding.

1. The relevant ethical obligations imposed by the Rules of Professional Conduct include, but are not limited to rules:

a. 1.1 (requiring competent representation);

b. 1.3 (requiring "reasonable diligence and promptness" in representation);

c. 1.4 (requiring prompt and reasonable communications with the client);

d. 1.7(a)(2) (a "lawyer shall not represent a client if ...; there is a significant risk that the representation of one or more clients will be materially limited by the lawyer's responsibilities to another client, a former client or a third person...;");

e. 1.16(a)(1) (requiring a lawyer to "withdraw from the representation of a client if...;the representation will result in violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct or law.");

f. 5.1(a) and (b) (imposing on a "firm" the obligation to make reasonable efforts to ensure that the firm has in effect measures giving reasonable assurance that all lawyers in the firm conform to the Rules of Professional Conduct" and that a "lawyer having direct supervisory authority over another lawyer shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the other lawyer conforms to the Rules of Professional Conduct"); and

g. 6.2(a) (a "lawyer shall not seek to avoid appointment by a tribunal to represent a person except for good cause, such as ...; representing the client is likely to result in violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct or other law.").

2. The board further recognizes that a district or a district defender's office may be a "firm" for the purposes of Rule of Professional Conduct 5.1(a).

D. When this protocol uses "shall" or "shall not," it is intended to impose binding obligations. When "should" or "should not" is used, the text is intended as a statement of what is or is not appropriate conduct, but not as a binding rule. When "may" is used, it denotes permissible discretion or, depending on the context, refers to action that is not prohibited specifically.

E. This protocol is intended to be read consistently with constitutional requirements, statutes, the Rules of Professional Conduct, other court rules and decisional law and in the context of all relevant circumstances.

F. This protocol is neither designed nor intended as a basis for civil liability, criminal prosecution or the judicial evaluation of any public defense service provider's alleged misconduct.

G. If any phrase, clause, sentence or provision of this protocol is declared invalid for any reason, such invalidity does not affect the other provisions of this protocol that can be given effect without the invalid provision, and to this end, the provisions of this protocol are severable. The provisions of this protocol shall be liberally construed to effectuate the protocol's purposes.

La. Admin. Code tit. 22, § XV-1701

Promulgated by the Office of the Governor, Public Defender Board, LR 38:813 (March 2012).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 15:148.