South Carolina § 17-3-520 - Circuit public defender; qualifications; responsibilities.

§ 17-3-520. Circuit public defender; qualifications; responsibilities.

(A) In order for a person to be eligible to fill the position of circuit public defender, the person must:

(1) be at least twenty-five years of age;

(2) have been admitted and licensed to practice law in all courts of the State for at least five years;

(3) be a member in good standing of the South Carolina Bar, at all times; and

(4) be competent to counsel and defend a person charged with a capital felony and be certified at all times to defend capital cases in the State.

(B) A circuit public defender is responsible for:

(1) administering and coordinating the day-to-day operations of their respective offices, supervising the public defenders and other staff serving in the offices, and actively participating in the representation of clients throughout the judicial circuit;

(2) keeping and maintaining appropriate records, which includes:

(i) the number of persons represented pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, including cases assigned to other attorneys because of conflicts of interest;

(ii) the offenses charged; the outcome of each case; the expenditures made in carrying out the duties imposed by this article; and

(iii) other information and data as the commission may from time to time require;

(3) establishing a juvenile offender division within the circuit public defender office to specialize in the criminal defense of juveniles;

(4) preparing and submitting annually to the executive director of the commission a proposed budget for the provision of circuit-wide indigent defense services, an annual report containing pertinent data on the operation, costs, and needs of the circuit defender office, and other information as the commission or executive director may require;

(5) assisting the commission in establishing the state system and establishing the standards, policies, and procedures required pursuant to the applicable provisions of Section 17-3-310;

(6) developing and presenting for the commission's approval a circuit plan for the delivery of criminal indigent defense services;

(7) establishing processes and procedures consistent with commission standards to ensure that when a case that is assigned to the office presents a conflict of interest for a public defender, the conflict is identified and handled appropriately and ethically;

(8) negotiating and entering into contracts, as appropriate and when authorized by the commission, with independent counsel actively practicing within the circuit for the provision of indigent defense services in cases in which a conflict of interest exists in the circuit public defender office and in other criminal cases in the circuit in which indigent defense representation by independent counsel is necessary or advisable;

(9) establishing processes and procedures consistent with commission standards to ensure that office and contract personnel use information technology and caseload management systems so that detailed expenditure and caseload data is accurately collected, recorded, and reported;

(10) establishing administrative management procedures for circuit and county offices;

(11) establishing procedures in conformity with commission standards for managing caseloads and assigning cases in a manner that ensures that public defenders are assigned cases according to experience, training, and manageable caseloads and taking into account case complexity, the severity of the charges, potential punishments, and the legal skills required to provide effective assistance of counsel;

(12) establishing policies and procedures consistent with commission standards and Supreme Court Rules for assigning counsel for indigent persons in capital cases;

(13) establishing and supervising consistent commission standards, a training and performance evaluation program for attorneys and non-attorney staff members and contractors;

(14) establishing procedures consistent with commission standards to handle complaints involving indigent defense performance and to ensure that public defenders, office personnel, contract and appointed attorneys and clients are aware of avenues available for bringing a complaint and that office procedures do not conflict with the rules and disciplinary jurisdiction of the South Carolina Supreme Court; and

(15) performance of other duties assigned by the commission.

HISTORY: 2007 Act No. 108, SECTION 3, eff June 21, 2007.