Louisiana § RS 15:169 - Representation of capital defendants

§ RS 15:169. Representation of capital defendants

            A. In cases where a sentence of death has been imposed, the office shall promptly cause counsel to be enrolled to represent the defendant and retain only such staff counsel or other counsel, who will work under the supervision of the office, as are necessary to provide counsel to represent capital defendants on direct appeal to the Supreme Court of Louisiana and to seek post-conviction relief if appropriate in state and federal court. The office shall also adopt rules regarding the provision of reasonably necessary services associated with the proceedings, including investigative, expert, and other services. The rules shall require that funds to pay for such reasonably necessary services shall be provided only upon a written showing specifically identifying the nature of the services, the cost of such services, and the need for such services with mandatory guidelines for compensation and litigation expense maximums. The office may seek funding as is available under federal law or from other public and private sources to cover the costs of providing representation in connection with applications for post-conviction relief filed in state and federal court.

            B. Staff counsel, or other counsel, who represented convicted capital defendants in state court proceedings may, if authorized by the office, accept appointments from federal court to represent those defendants, but only if compensation is provided by funds as directed by the appointing federal court. Such funds shall remain subject to the use of the board and may be used for paying the costs of such representation. No state-appropriated funds shall be expended for the representation of capital defendants in federal court.

            C. If in any fiscal year the state public defender determines, based on a review of pending litigation of post-conviction relief applications for capital cases, that insufficient funds exist to provide counsel for these cases; he may request supplemental funding, on a case by case basis, from the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget be distributed from the Overcollections Fund. The state public defender and the attorney general shall each submit a report to the committee prior to it taking action on a request.

            Acts 2007, No. 307, §1; Acts 2024, 2^nd Ex. Sess., No. 22, §1, eff. March 20, 2024; Acts 2025, No. 393, §2.