Mont. Code Ann. § 47-1-101 — MT Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Part 1 / Section 47-1-101
47-1-101 Short title
Status: in_force

47-1-101 . Short title. This chapter may be cited as the "Montana Public Defender Act".
Mont. Code Ann. § 47-1-105 — MT Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Part 1 / Section 47-1-105
47-1-105 Director -- duties -- report -- standards for public defender services qualification and training
Status: in_force

47-1-105 . Director -- duties -- report -- standards for public defender services qualification and training. (1) The director shall supervise and direct the system. In addition to other duties assigned pursuant to this chapter, the director shall:

(a) establish the qualifications, duties, and compensation of the public defender division administrator provided for in 47-1-201 , hire the public defender division administrator after considering qualified applicants, and regularly evaluate the performance of the public defender division administrator;

(b) establish the qualifications, duties, and compensation of the appellate defender division administrator provided for in 47-1-301 , hire the appellate defender division administrator after considering qualified applicants, and regularly evaluate the performance of the appellate defender division administrator;

(c) establish the qualifications, duties, and compensation of the conflict defender division administrator provided for in 47-1-401 , hire the conflict defender division administrator after considering qualified applicants, and regularly evaluate the performance of the conflict defender division administrator; and

(d) establish the qualifications, duties, and compensation of the central services division administrator provided for in 47-1-119 , hire the central services division administrator after considering qualified applicants, and regularly evaluate the performance of the central services division administrator.

(2) The director shall establish statewide standards for the qualification and training of attorneys providing public defender services to ensure that services are provided by competent counsel and in a manner that is fair and consistent throughout the state. The standards must take into consideration:

(a) the level of education and experience that is necessary to competently handle certain cases and case types, such as criminal, juvenile, abuse and neglect, civil commitment, capital, and other case types, including cases on appeal, in order to provide effective assistance of counsel;

(b) acceptable caseloads and workload monitoring protocols to ensure that public defender workloads are manageable;

(c) access to and use of necessary professional services, such as paralegal, investigator, and other services that may be required to support a public defender in a case;

(d) continuing education requirements for public defenders and support staff;

(e) nationally recognized practice standards for each type of case in which the office of state public defender provides representation;

(f) performance criteria; and

(g) performance evaluation protocols.

(3) The director shall also:

(a) review and approve the strategic plan and budget;

(b) review and approve any proposal to create permanent staff positions;

(c) establish policies and procedures for handling excess caseloads;

(d) establish policies and procedures to ensure that detailed expenditure and caseload data is collected, recorded, and reported to support strategic planning efforts for the system;

(e) examine workloads and workload standards for all levels within the office of state public defender and include its findings in the biennial report provided for in 47-1-125 ;

(f) establish standards for a statewide contracted services program to be managed by the central services division provided for in 47-1-119 to ensure that contracting for public defender services is done fairly and consistently statewide and within each public defender region;

(g) establish reasonable compensation for attorneys contracted to provide public defender and appellate defender services and for others contracted to provide nonattorney services; and

(h) ensure that there are procedures for conducting assessments of each contract attorney on a biennial basis.

(4) The office of state public defender shall adopt administrative rules pursuant to the Montana Administrative Procedure Act to implement the provisions of this chapter.
Mont. Code Ann. § 47-1-119 — MT Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Part 1 / Section 47-1-119
47-1-119 Central services division -- responsibilities -- contracted services -- training -- department of administration to support
Status: in_force

47-1-119 . Central services division -- responsibilities -- contracted services -- training -- department of administration to support. (1) There is a central services division in the office of state public defender. The division must be located in Butte, Montana. The central services division is supervised by an administrator hired and supervised by the director.

(2) The central services division administrator shall:

(a) manage eligibility determination under 47-1-111 ;

(b) manage agency contracting pursuant to subsection (3);

(c) manage agency training, practice standards, and litigation support pursuant to subsection (4);

(d) provide administrative support to the director; and

(e) actively seek gifts, grants, and donations that may be available through the federal government or other sources to help fund the system.

(3) (a) The central services division administrator shall hire an individual who is responsible for the administrative oversight and assignment of contracted public defenders and service providers for the office of state public defender.

(b) All contracting pursuant to this section is exempt from the Montana Procurement Act as provided in 18-4-132 .

(c) Contracts may not be awarded based solely on the lowest bid or provide compensation to contractors based solely on a fixed fee paid irrespective of the number of cases assigned.

(d) (i) Contracting pursuant to this section must be done through a competitive process that must, at a minimum, involve the following considerations:

(A) attorney qualifications necessary to provide effective assistance of counsel that meets relevant and applicable standards for any case assigned;

(B) attorney caseload, including the amount of private practice engaged in outside the contract;

(C) reporting protocols and caseload monitoring processes;

(D) a process for assessment of performance;

(E) a process for conflict resolution;

(F) continuing education requirements;

(G) cost of services provided; and

(H) compliance with agency and state policies, procedures, protocols, and standards.

(ii) Contract public defenders may not take any money, compensation, or benefit from, or on behalf of, any client assigned to them under this section.

(4) (a) The central services division administrator shall hire an individual who is responsible for the administrative oversight and management of agency training, practice standards, and litigation support services.

(b) The individual shall coordinate training efforts for all agency employees, contract public defenders, and contracted service providers. The training efforts must include:

(i) current aspects of criminal and civil law involving public defense;

(ii) current and emerging technologies affecting public defense; and

(iii) best practices and standard operating procedures needed for the effective and efficient performance of duties.

(c) The individual shall manage the development and dissemination of practice standards and standard operating procedures affecting the delivery of public defender services.

(d) The individual shall ensure articles, opinions, motions, briefs, and other relevant sources of information regarding important aspects of public defense are collected, compiled, and made available to agency employees, contract public defenders, and contracted service providers.

(e) The individual shall develop and manage a litigation support services program to provide cocounsel and other direct litigation assistance as necessary to public defenders.

(5) The central services division shall establish for the office of state public defender:

(a) standard procedures to handle complaints about public defender performance and work with the public defender division administrator, appellate defender division administrator, and conflict defender division administrator to ensure that public defenders, office personnel, and clients are aware of avenues available for bringing a complaint and that office procedures do not conflict with the disciplinary jurisdiction of the supreme court and the rules promulgated pursuant to Article VII, section 2, of the Montana constitution and the applicable provisions of Title 37, chapter 61;

(b) processes and procedures to ensure that employees and contract personnel use information technology and caseload management systems so that detailed expenditure and caseload data is accurately collected, recorded, and reported; and

(c) budgeting, reporting, and related administrative requirements for the office of state public defender, including procedures for the approval, payment, recording, reporting, and management of all defense expenses.

(6) The following expenses are payable by the central services division if the expense is incurred at the request of a public defender and is authorized by the director:

(a) witness and interpreter fees and expenses as provided for in Title 26, chapter 2, part 5, and 46-15-116 ; and

(b) transcript fees, as provided in 3-5-604 .

(7) If the costs to be paid pursuant to subsection (6) are not paid directly, reimbursement must be made within 30 days of the receipt of a claim.

(8) The department of administration established in 2-15-1001 shall provide central services support to the extent feasible and efficient.
Mont. Code Ann. § 47-1-104 — MT Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Part 1 / Section 47-1-104
47-1-104 Statewide system -- structure and scope of services -- assignment of counsel at public expense
Status: in_force

47-1-104 . Statewide system -- structure and scope of services -- assignment of counsel at public expense. (1) There is a statewide public defender system, which is required to deliver public defender services in all courts in this state. The system is supervised by the director. The director must be an attorney licensed to practice law in the state.

(2) The director shall approve a strategic plan for service delivery and establish not more than 11 public defender regions. The director may establish a regional office to provide public defender services in each region as provided in 47-1-215 for nonconflict regions and as provided in 47-1-403 for conflict regions, establish a contracted services program to provide services in the region, or utilize other service delivery methods as appropriate and consistent with the purposes described in 47-1-102 .

(3) When a court orders the assignment of a public defender, the appropriate office shall immediately assign a public defender qualified to provide the required services. The director shall establish protocols to ensure that the offices make appropriate assignments in a timely manner.

(4) A court may order assignment of a public defender under this chapter in the following cases:

(a) in cases in which a person is entitled to assistance of counsel at public expense because of financial inability to retain private counsel, subject to a determination of indigence pursuant to 47-1-111 , as follows:

(i) for a person charged with a felony or charged with a misdemeanor for which there is a possibility of incarceration, as provided in 46-8-101 ;

(ii) for a party in a proceeding to determine parentage under the Uniform Parentage Act, as provided in 40-6-119 ;

(iii) for an applicant for sentence review pursuant to Title 46, chapter 18, part 9;

(iv) for a petitioner in a proceeding for postconviction relief, as provided in 46-21-201 ;

(v) for a petitioner in a habeas corpus proceeding pursuant to Title 46, chapter 22;

(vi) for a parent or guardian in a proceeding for the involuntary commitment of a developmentally disabled person to a residential facility, as provided in 53-20-112 ;

(vii) for a witness in a criminal grand jury proceeding, as provided in 46-4-304 ; and

(viii) for a parent in a proceeding to involuntarily terminate the parent's parental rights pursuant to 42-2-607 ;

(b) in cases in which a person is entitled by law to the assistance of counsel at public expense regardless of the person's financial ability to retain private counsel, as follows:

(i) as provided for in 41-3-425 ;

(ii) for a youth in a proceeding under the Montana Youth Court Act alleging a youth is delinquent or in need of intervention, as provided in 41-5-1413 , and in a prosecution under the Extended Jurisdiction Prosecution Act, as provided in 41-5-1607 ;

(iii) for a juvenile entitled to assigned counsel in a proceeding under the Interstate Compact on Juveniles, as provided in 41-6-101 ;

(iv) for a minor who petitions for a waiver of parental consent requirements under the Parental Consent for Abortion Act of 2013, as provided in 50-20-509 ;

(v) for a respondent in a proceeding for the involuntary commitment of a developmentally disabled person to a residential facility, as provided in 53-20-112 ;

(vi) for a minor voluntarily committed to a mental health facility, as provided in 53-21-112 ;

(vii) for a person who is the subject of a petition for the appointment of a guardian or conservator in a proceeding under the provisions of the Uniform Probate Code in Title 72, chapter 5;

(viii) for a ward when the ward's guardian has filed a petition to require medical treatment for a mental disorder of the ward, as provided in 72-5-322 ;

(ix) for a parent, guardian, or other person with physical or legal custody of a child or youth in any removal, placement, or termination proceeding pursuant to 41-3-422 and as required under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act and 41-3-1316 , as provided in 41-3-425 ;

(x) for a respondent in a proceeding for involuntary commitment for a mental disorder, as provided in 53-21-116 ; and

(xi) for a respondent in a proceeding for the involuntary commitment of a person for alcoholism, as provided in 53-24-302 ; and

(c) for an eligible appellant in an appeal of a proceeding listed in this subsection (4).

(5) A court may also order assignment of a public defender to serve as a member of a treatment court team established pursuant to 46-1-1104 or 46-1-1204 .

(6) (a) Except as provided in subsection (6)(b), a public defender may not be assigned to act as a court-appointed special advocate or guardian ad litem in a proceeding under the Montana Youth Court Act, Title 41, chapter 5, or in an abuse and neglect proceeding under Title 41, chapter 3.

(b) A private attorney who is contracted with under the provisions of this title to provide public defender services under this chapter may be appointed as a court-appointed special advocate or guardian ad litem in a proceeding described in subsection (6)(a) if the appointment is separate from the attorney's service for the statewide public defender system and does not result in a conflict of interest.
Mont. Code Ann. § 47-1-301 — MT Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Part 3 / Section 47-1-301
47-1-301 Appellate defender division -- personnel
Status: in_force

47-1-301 . Appellate defender division -- personnel. (1) There is an appellate defender division. The appellate defender division must be located in Helena, Montana. The head of the division is the appellate defender division administrator, who is hired and supervised by the director.

(2) The appellate defender division administrator must be an attorney licensed to practice law in the state.

(3) Subject to approval by the director, the appellate defender division administrator shall hire and supervise other personnel necessary to perform the function of the appellate defender division, including but not limited to:

(a) managing appellate public defenders;

(b) appellate public defenders; and

(c) other necessary administrative and professional support staff for the appellate defender division.
Mont. Code Ann. § 47-1-402 — MT Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Part 4 / Section 47-1-402
47-1-402 Conflict defender division administrator -- duties
Status: in_force

47-1-402 . Conflict defender division administrator -- duties. (1) In addition to the duties provided for in 47-1-401 and subject to approval by the director, the conflict defender division administrator shall:

(a) develop and implement a regional strategic plan for the delivery of conflict defender services;

(b) ensure that administrative management procedures for conflict regional offices are consistent with the policies and procedures provided by the central services division established in 47-1-119 ;

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

(d) establish policies and procedures for assigning counsel in capital cases that are consistent with standards issued by the Montana supreme court for counsel for indigent persons in capital cases;

(e) work with the central services division to establish and supervise a training and performance evaluation program for attorneys and nonattorney staff members and contractors;

(f) work with the central services division to establish procedures to handle complaints about conflict public defender performance; and

(g) perform all other duties assigned by the director pursuant to this chapter.

(2) The conflict defender division administrator may not maintain a client caseload.
Mont. Code Ann. § 47-1-215 — MT Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Part 2 / Section 47-1-215
47-1-215 Regional offices -- regional public defenders
Status: in_force

47-1-215 . Regional offices -- regional public defenders. (1) The public defender division administrator shall hire, assign, and supervise a regional public defender to manage and supervise each regional office established pursuant to 47-1-104 (2).

(2) Subject to approval by the public defender division administrator, each regional public defender shall:

(a) manage and supervise all public defender services provided within the regional public defender's assigned region;

(b) establish protocols so that when a court orders the assignment of counsel, the assignment is made promptly to an appropriate public defender and so that a public defender is immediately available when necessary;

(c) ensure that public defender assignments within the region comply with the provisions of 47-1-202 (1)(c);

(d) hire and supervise the work of regional office personnel as authorized by the public defender division administrator;

(e) coordinate with the central services division to contract for necessary public defender services;

(f) implement the standards and procedures established by the director and the public defender division administrator for the region; and

(g) perform all other duties as assigned by the public defender division administrator.
Mont. Code Ann. § 47-1-111 — MT Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Part 1 / Section 47-1-111
47-1-111 Eligibility -- determination of indigence -- rules
Status: in_force

47-1-111 . Eligibility -- determination of indigence -- rules. (1) (a) When a court orders the office to assign counsel to an applicant for public defender services, the office shall immediately assign counsel prior to a determination under this section.

(b) If the person for whom counsel has been assigned is later determined pursuant to this section to be ineligible for public defender services, the office shall immediately file a motion to rescind appointment so that the court's order may be rescinded.

(c) (i) The applicant may request that the court conduct a hearing on the motion to rescind appointment. If the applicant requests a hearing on the motion to rescind appointment, the court shall hold the hearing.

(ii) The sole purpose of the hearing is to determine the financial eligibility of the applicant for public defender services. At the beginning of the hearing, the court shall admonish the parties that the scope of the hearing is limited to determining the financial eligibility of the applicant for public defender services.

(iii) Only evidence related to the applicant's financial eligibility for public defender services may be introduced at the hearing.

(iv) The applicant may not be compelled to testify at a hearing on the motion to rescind appointment.

(v) If the applicant testifies at the hearing, the applicant may be questioned only regarding financial eligibility for public defender services.

(vi) If the applicant testifies at the hearing, the court shall advise the applicant that any testimony or evidence introduced on the applicant's behalf other than testimony or evidence regarding financial eligibility may be used during any criminal action.

(vii) Evidence regarding financial eligibility under this section may not be used in any criminal action, except in a criminal action regarding a subsequent charge of perjury or false swearing related to the applicant's claim of entitlement to public defender services.

(d) If the applicant does not request a hearing on the motion to rescind appointment, does not appear at a hearing on the motion to rescind appointment, or does not testify or present evidence regarding financial eligibility at the hearing on the motion to rescind appointment, the court shall find the applicant is not eligible to have counsel assigned under Title 47 and shall grant the motion to rescind appointment and order the assignment of counsel to be rescinded.

(e) A person for whom counsel is assigned is entitled to the full benefit of public defender services until the court grants the motion to rescind appointment and orders the assignment of counsel to be rescinded.

(f) Any determination pursuant to this section is subject to the review and approval of the court. The propriety of an assignment of counsel by the office is subject to inquiry by the court, and the court may deny an assignment.

(2) (a) An applicant for public defender services who is eligible for a public defender because the applicant is indigent shall also provide a detailed financial statement and sign an affidavit. The court shall advise the defendant that the defendant is subject to criminal charges for any false statement made on the financial statement.

(b) The application, financial statement, and affidavit must be on a form prescribed by the central services division provided for in 47-1-119 . The affidavit must clearly state that it is signed under the penalty of perjury and that a false statement may be prosecuted. The judge may inquire into the truth of the information contained in the affidavit.

(c) Information disclosed in the application, financial statement, or affidavit is not admissible in a civil or criminal action except when offered for impeachment purposes or in a subsequent prosecution of the applicant for perjury or false swearing.

(d) The office may file a motion to rescind the appointment for failure to fill out an application or to provide any requested financial documentation. A court may find a person in civil contempt of court for a person's unreasonable delay or failure to comply with the provisions of this subsection (2).

(3) An applicant is indigent if:

(a) the applicant's gross household income is at or less than 133% of the poverty level set according to the most current federal poverty guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the United States department of health and human services under the authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2); or

(b) the disposable income and assets of the applicant and the members of the applicant's household are insufficient to retain competent private counsel without substantial hardship to the applicant or the members of the applicant's household.

(4) A determination of indigence may not be denied based solely on an applicant's ability to post bail or solely because the applicant is employed.

(5) A determination may be modified by the office or the court if additional information becomes available or if the applicant's financial circumstances change.

(6) The central services division shall ensure that determinations based on presumptive eligibility, income and assets, and substantial hardships are done in a consistent manner throughout the state. The central services division shall verify information on the application form for all applicants seeking counsel under subsection (3)(b).

(7) The central services division shall establish procedures and adopt rules to implement this section. The procedures and rules:

(a) must ensure that the eligibility determination process is done timely and is fair and consistent statewide;

(b) must allow a qualified private attorney to represent an applicant if the attorney agrees to accept from the applicant a compensation rate that will not constitute a substantial financial hardship to the applicant or the members of the applicant's household;

(c) may provide for the use of other public or private agencies or contractors to conduct eligibility screening under this section;

(d) must avoid unnecessary duplication of processes; and

(e) must prohibit a public defender from performing eligibility screening for the public defender's own cases pursuant to this section. A deputy public defender or individual public defender reviewing another public defender's case may oversee eligibility screening pursuant to this section.
Mont. Code Ann. § 47-1-103 — MT Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Part 1 / Section 47-1-103
47-1-103 Definitions
Status: in_force

47-1-103 . Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the following definitions apply:

(1) "Court" means the supreme court, a district court, a youth court, a justice's court, a municipal court, or a city court.

(2) "Director" means the director of the office of state public defender hired by the director of the department of administration as provided in 2-15-1029 .

(3) "Indigent" means that a person has been determined under the provisions of 47-1-111 to be indigent and financially unable to retain private counsel.

(4) "Office" means the office of state public defender established in 2-15-1029 .

(5) "Public defender" means an attorney employed by or under contract with the office and assigned to provide legal counsel to a person under the provisions of this chapter, including attorneys employed by or under contract with the appellate defender division and the conflict defender division.

(6) "Statewide public defender system", "state system", or "system" means the system of public defender services established pursuant to this chapter.
Mont. Code Ann. § 47-1-126 — MT Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Part 1 / Section 47-1-126
47-1-126 Terminated
Status: in_force

47-1-126 . Terminated. Sec. 4, Ch. 35, L. 2017.
Mont. Code Ann. § 47-1-202 — MT Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Part 2 / Section 47-1-202
47-1-202 Public defender division administrator -- duties
Status: in_force

47-1-202 . Public defender division administrator -- duties. (1) In addition to the duties provided in 47-1-201 and subject to approval by the director, the public defender division administrator shall:

(a) develop and implement a regional strategic plan for the delivery of public defender services;

(b) ensure that administrative management procedures for regional offices are consistent with the policies and procedures provided by the central services division established in 47-1-119 ;

(c) establish procedures 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 charges and potential punishments, and the legal skills required to provide effective assistance of counsel;

(d) establish policies and procedures for assigning counsel in capital cases that are consistent with standards issued by the Montana supreme court for counsel for indigent persons in capital cases;

(e) work with the central services division to establish and supervise a training and performance evaluation program for attorneys and nonattorney staff members and contractors;

(f) work with the central services division to establish procedures to handle complaints about public defender performance; and

(g) perform all other duties assigned by the director pursuant to this chapter.

(2) The public defender division administrator may not maintain a client caseload.
Mont. Code Ann. § 47-1-302 — MT Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Part 3 / Section 47-1-302
47-1-302 Appellate defender division administrator -- duties
Status: in_force

47-1-302 . Appellate defender division administrator -- duties. (1) In addition to the duties provided in 47-1-301 and subject to approval by the director, the appellate defender division administrator shall:

(a) develop and implement a strategic plan for the delivery of appellate public defender services;

(b) ensure that administrative management procedures for appellate offices are consistent with the policies and procedures provided by the central services division established in 47-1-119 ;

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

(d) establish policies and procedures for assigning counsel in capital cases that are consistent with standards issued by the Montana supreme court for counsel for indigent persons in capital cases;

(e) work with the central services division to establish and supervise a training and performance evaluation program for attorneys and nonattorney staff members and contractors;

(f) work with the central services division to establish procedures to handle complaints about appellate public defender performance; and

(g) perform all other duties assigned by the director pursuant to this chapter.

(2) The appellate defender division administrator may maintain a minimum client caseload as determined by the director.
Mont. Code Ann. § 47-1-102 — MT Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Part 1 / Section 47-1-102
47-1-102 Purpose
Status: in_force

47-1-102 . Purpose. The purposes of this chapter are to:

(1) establish a statewide public defender system to provide effective assistance of counsel to indigent criminal defendants and other persons in civil cases who are entitled by law to assistance of counsel at public expense;

(2) ensure that the system is free from undue political interference and conflicts of interest;

(3) provide that public defender services are delivered by qualified and competent counsel in a manner that is fair and consistent throughout the state;

(4) establish a system that utilizes state employees, contracted services, or other methods of providing services in a manner that is responsive to and respective of regional and community needs and interests;

(5) ensure that adequate public funding of the statewide public defender system is provided and managed in a fiscally responsible manner; and

(6) ensure that clients of the statewide public defender system pay reasonable costs for services provided by the system based on the clients' financial ability to pay.
Mont. Code Ann. § 47-1-401 — MT Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Part 4 / Section 47-1-401
47-1-401 Conflicts of interest -- conflict defender division administrator
Status: in_force

47-1-401 . Conflicts of interest -- conflict defender division administrator. (1) There is a conflict defender division to provide for the representation of agency clients in circumstances in which, because of conflict of interest, lack of caseload capacity, or to further the client's best interest, the public defender division or the appellate defender division is unable to provide representation to a defendant. The head of the division is the conflict defender division administrator, who is hired and supervised by the director.

(2) The conflict defender division administrator must be an attorney licensed to practice law in the state.

(3) The conflict defender division administrator shall hire and supervise other personnel necessary to perform the function of the conflict defender division, including but not limited to:

(a) regional conflict public defenders;

(b) conflict managing public defenders;

(c) conflict public defenders; and

(d) other necessary administrative and professional support staff for the public defender division.
Mont. Code Ann. § 47-1-125 — MT Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Part 1 / Section 47-1-125
47-1-125 Reports
Status: in_force

47-1-125 . Reports. (1) (a) The office shall submit a biennial report to the governor, the supreme court, and the law and justice interim committee in accordance with 5-11-210 .

(b) The biennial report must cover the preceding biennium and include:

(i) all policies or procedures in effect for the operation and administration of the statewide public defender system;

(ii) all standards of practice established or being considered by the director for the public defender division, the appellate defender division, and the conflict defender division;

(iii) the number of regional public defenders and the region supervised by each;

(iv) the number of public defenders employed or contracted with in the system, identified by region, if appropriate, and office;

(v) the number of nonattorney staff employed or contracted with in the system, identified by region, if appropriate, and office;

(vi) the number of new cases in which counsel was assigned to represent a party, identified by region, court, case type, and case weight;

(vii) the total number of persons represented by the public defender division, the appellate defender division, and the conflict defender division identified by region, if appropriate, court, and case type;

(viii) the annual caseload and workload of each public defender identified by region, if appropriate, court, and case type;

(ix) the training programs conducted by the office and the number of attorney and nonattorney staff who attended each program;

(x) the continuing education courses conducted through the agency on criminal defense or criminal procedure attended by each public defender employed or contracted with in the system; and

(xi) detailed expenditure data by court and case type.

(2) The office shall report data for each fiscal year by September 30 of the subsequent fiscal year representing the caseload for the entire statewide public defender system to the governor, the legislature in accordance with 5-11-210 , and legislative fiscal analyst. The report must include unduplicated count data for all cases for which representation is paid for by the office, the number of new cases opened, the number of cases closed, the number of cases that remain open and active, the number of cases that remain open but are inactive, and the average number of days between case opening and closure for each case type. The report must be provided in an electronic format.

(3) (a) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2011, and every 5 years thereafter, the legislative fiscal analyst shall compare the percentage change in general fund revenue for the previous 5 years to the percentage change in the amounts allocated to local governments under the provisions of 15-1-121 , as amended in 2005, and the actual costs for public defender services for the same time period.

(b) The results of the comparison must be reported to the governor, legislative finance committee, law and justice interim committee, and supreme court the following fiscal year and in accordance with 5-11-210 .
Mont. Code Ann. § 47-1-201 — MT Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Part 2 / Section 47-1-201
47-1-201 Public defender division -- personnel
Status: in_force

47-1-201 . Public defender division -- personnel. (1) There is a public defender division. The head of the division is the public defender division administrator, who is hired and supervised by the director.

(2) The public defender division administrator must be an attorney licensed to practice law in the state.

(3) The public defender division administrator shall hire and supervise other personnel necessary to perform the function of the public defender division, including but not limited to:

(a) regional public defenders, as provided in 47-1-215 ;

(b) managing public defenders;

(c) public defenders; and

(d) other necessary administrative and professional support staff for the public defender division.
Mont. Code Ann. § 47-1-403 — MT Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Part 4 / Section 47-1-403
47-1-403 Conflict regional offices -- conflict regional public defenders
Status: in_force

47-1-403 . Conflict regional offices -- conflict regional public defenders. (1) The conflict defender division administrator may, with the approval of the director, hire, assign, and supervise a conflict regional public defender to manage and supervise each conflict regional office in the conflict defender division established pursuant to 47-1-104 (2).

(2) Subject to approval by the conflict defender division administrator, each conflict regional public defender shall:

(a) manage and supervise all conflict public defender services provided within the conflict regional public defender's assigned region;

(b) establish protocols so that when a court orders the assignment of counsel, the assignment is made promptly to an appropriate public defender and so that a conflict public defender is immediately available when necessary;

(c) ensure that conflict public defender assignments within the region comply with the provisions of 47-1-202 (1)(c);

(d) hire and supervise the work of conflict regional office personnel as authorized by the conflict defender division administrator;

(e) coordinate with the central services division to contract for necessary conflict public defender services;

(f) implement the standards and procedures established by the director and the conflict defender division administrator for the region; and

(g) perform all other duties as assigned by the conflict defender division administrator.