NY Exec L § 832 (2021)
2021 New York Laws EXC - Executive Article 30 - Indigent Legal Services 832 - Office of Indigent Legal Services.

§  832.  Office of indigent legal services. 1. There is hereby created within the executive department the office of indigent  legal  services, hereinafter  referred to in this section as the "office". The purpose of such office is to monitor, study and make efforts to improve the quality of services provided pursuant to article eighteen-B of the  county  law. The office shall report to the indigent legal services board established pursuant   to  section  eight  hundred  thirty-three  of  this  article, provided, however, that administrative matters  of  general  application within the executive department shall also be applicable to such office.   2.  (a)  Following  the  initial  appointment  of  the  members of the indigent legal services board  established  pursuant  to  section  eight hundred thirty-three of this article, such board shall promptly nominate a  full-time  director  of  the  office  and notify the governor of such nomination. After approval  or  disapproval  of  the  first  nominee  as director  of  the office, or at any time thereafter when a vacancy shall exist or is anticipated in the position of director of the  office,  the indigent  legal  services  board  shall  promptly  nominate  a full-time director of the office, and notify  the  governor  of  such  nomination. Nothing  in  this  paragraph shall prohibit the board from appointing an interim director if there is a vacancy.  (b) The governor, within thirty days after receiving written notice of any nomination of a director made pursuant  to  paragraph  (a)  of  this subdivision,  may  approve or disapprove the nomination. If the governor approves such nomination, or fails to act on such nomination within such thirty day period, the nominee shall thereupon commence his or her  term as  director  of  the  office.  If,  within  such thirty day period, the governor  serves  upon  the  chair  of  such  board  a  written   notice disapproving  such  nomination,  the  nominee shall not be authorized to serve as director of the office provided, however, that such  board  may authorize  an  interim  director  appointed pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision to serve or continue to serve as interim director until such time as a director  of  the  office  is  approved,  or  not  timely disapproved, by the governor. Following any disapproval, the board shall have  sixty  days to submit another nominee, although such period may be extended, upon request of the board, by the governor. A person appointed as interim director may exercise all of  the  powers  available  to  the director of such office.  (c) The director of the office shall serve full-time and for a term of five  years. The director may be removed during this term for good cause shown, after notice and an  opportunity  to  be  heard,  by  a  vote  of two-thirds or more of the nine members of such board. The person serving as  director shall, upon assuming such position, be admitted to practice law and shall have not less than five years professional  experience  in the  area of public defense services, and have a demonstrated commitment to the provision of quality public defense  representation  and  to  the communities served by public defense providers.  (d)  The  director  shall  appoint  employees  and  perform such other functions as are appropriate to ensure the efficient  operation  of  the office within the amounts available therefor by appropriation.   3. Duties and responsibilities. The office shall, in consultation with the  indigent legal services board established pursuant to section eight hundred thirty-three of this article,  have  the  following  duties  and responsibilities:  (a)  to examine, evaluate and monitor services provided in each county pursuant to article eighteen-B of the county law;  (b)  to  collect  and  receive  information  and  data  regarding  the provision  of  services pursuant to article eighteen-B of the county law including, but not limited to:  (i) the types and combinations of such services being utilized in each county;  (ii)   the   salaries   and  other  compensation  paid  to  individual administrators, attorneys and staff providing such services;  (iii) the  actual  caseloads  of  attorneys  providing  such  services pursuant to article eighteen-B of the county law;  (iv)  how  the  caseloads of attorneys providing such services compare with the caseloads of attorneys providing  prosecution-related  services in each county;  (v)  the  types, nature and timing of dispositions of cases handled by attorneys   providing   such   services    and    attorneys    providing prosecution-related services;  (vi)  the  actual  expenditures currently being made in each county on such services and prosecution-related services;  (vii) the time, funds and in-kind resources currently being  spent  on such  services  and  prosecution-related  services  and the amount being spent on ancillary services such as investigators, support staff, social workers and expert  witnesses,  including  consideration  of  all  funds received for such services from all sources;  (viii)  the criteria and procedures used to determine whether a person is eligible to receive such services, the number of  persons  considered for  and  applicants  denied such services, the reasons for the denials, and the results of any review of such denials, including the  number  of orders  issued  pursuant  to  section  seven hundred twenty-two-d of the county law; and  (ix) the standards and criteria used in programs and by each county to determine whether individual attorneys are qualified to provide indigent legal services, on a case by case basis;  (c) to analyze and evaluate the  collected  data,  and  undertake  any necessary  research  and  studies,  in  order  to consider and recommend measures to enhance the provision of  indigent  legal  services  and  to ensure   that  recipients  of  services  provided  pursuant  to  article eighteen-B of the county law are provided  with  quality  representation from  fiscally  responsible  providers,  which  shall include but not be limited to: establishing criteria and  procedures  to  guide  courts  in determining  whether  a  person  is  eligible  for  such representation; establishing standards,  criteria  and  a  process  for  qualifying  and re-qualifying  attorneys  to  provide  such services pursuant to article eighteen-B of the county law;  (d) to establish standards and criteria  for  the  provision  of  such services  in  cases  involving  a  conflict  of  interest  and to assist counties to develop plans consistent with such standards and criteria;  (e) to  develop  recommendations  to  improve  the  delivery  of  such services  in a manner that is consistent with the needs of the counties, the efficiency and adequacy of the public defense plan operated  in  the counties  and  the  quality of representation offered, which may include receiving applications for and distributing grants pursuant to specified criteria;  (f)  to  develop  recommendations  regarding  the   distribution   and expenditure  of  any  monies  appropriated  for indigent legal services, including but not limited to monies from  the  indigent  legal  services fund  created  pursuant  to  section ninety-eight-b of the state finance law, for consideration by the indigent legal services board  established pursuant  to section eight hundred thirty-three of this article; and, in making such recommendations, may consider, in addition  to  measures  of performance,  the commitment of local resources to such services and the changes thereto; the geographic balance of funding among the regions  of  the  state,  population,  crime  rates,  poverty  rates  and  individual community needs;  (g)  to  target  grants  in  support  of innovative and cost effective solutions that enhance the provision of quality indigent legal services, including collaborative efforts serving multiple counties;  (h) to investigate and monitor any other matter  related  to  indigent legal services that the director deems important;  (i)  to  request  and  receive  from  any department, division, board, bureau, commission or  other  agency  of  the  state  or  any  political subdivision  of  the  state  or  any  public  authority such assistance, information and data,  subject  to  limitations  on  the  disclosure  of information provided confidentially to indigent legal service providers, as  will  enable  the office to properly carry out its functions, powers and duties;  (j) to establish measures of performance which programs  and  counties shall regularly report to the office, to assist the office in monitoring the quality of indigent legal services;  (k)  to apply for and accept any grant or gift for any of the purposes of the office or the  indigent  legal  services  board.  Any  monies  so received  may  be expended by the office to effectuate any such purpose, subject to the same limitations as to approval of expenditures and audit as are prescribed for state monies appropriated for such purposes;  (l) to present findings and make recommendations for consideration  by the  indigent legal services board established pursuant to section eight hundred thirty-three of this article; and  (m)  to  execute  decisions  of  the  indigent  legal  services  board established  pursuant  to  section  eight  hundred  thirty-three of this article, including the distribution of funds.   4. Additional  duties  and  responsibilities.  The  office  shall,  in consultation with the indigent legal services board established pursuant to  section  eight  hundred  thirty-three  of  this  article,  have  the following duties and responsibilities, and any plan  developed  pursuant to  this subdivision shall be submitted by the office to the director of the division of budget for review and approval, provided,  however  that the  director's approval shall be limited solely to the plan's projected fiscal impact of the required appropriation for  the  implementation  of such plan and his or her approval shall not be unreasonably withheld:  (a)  Counsel  at  arraignment. Develop and implement a written plan to ensure that each criminal defendant who is eligible for publicly  funded legal  representation  is represented by counsel in person at his or her arraignment; provided, however, that a timely arraignment  with  counsel shall   not   be  delayed  pending  a  determination  of  a  defendant's eligibility.  (i)  For  the  purposes  of  the  plan  developed  pursuant  to   this subdivision, the term "arraignment" shall mean the first appearance by a person  charged  with  a  crime  before  a judge or magistrate, with the exception of an appearance where no prosecutor  appears  and  no  action occurs  other  than  the  adjournment  of  the  criminal process and the unconditional  release  of  the   person   charged   (in   which   event "arraignment"  shall mean the person's next appearance before a judge or magistrate).  (ii) The written plan developed pursuant to this subdivision shall  be completed  by  December  first, two thousand seventeen and shall include interim steps for each county and the city of  New  York  for  achieving compliance with the plan.  (iii) Each county and the city of New York shall, in consultation with the  office, undertake good faith efforts to implement the plan and such plan shall be fully implemented and adhered to in each  county  and  the  city  of New York by April first, two thousand twenty-three. Pursuant to section seven hundred twenty-two-e of the county law,  the  state  shall reimburse each county and the city of New York for any costs incurred as a result of implementing such plan.  (iv)  The  office shall, on an ongoing basis, monitor and periodically report on the implementation of, and compliance with, the plan  in  each county and the city of New York.  (b)  Caseload  relief.  Develop  and  implement  a  written  plan that establishes numerical caseload/workload standards for each  provider  of constitutionally  mandated  publicly  funded  representation in criminal cases for people who are unable to afford counsel.  (i) Such  standards  shall  apply  to  all  providers  whether  public defender,  legal  aid  society,  assigned  counsel  program  or conflict defender in each county and the city of New York.  (ii) The written plan developed pursuant to this subdivision shall  be completed  by  December  first, two thousand seventeen and shall include interim steps for each county and the city of  New  York  for  achieving compliance  with  the  plan.  Such  plan  shall  include  the  number of attorneys, investigators and other non-attorney staff and the amount  of in-kind resources necessary for each provider of mandated representation to implement such plan.  (iii) Each county and the city of New York shall, in consultation with the   office,   undertake   good   faith   efforts   to   implement  the caseload/workload  standards  and  such   standards   shall   be   fully implemented  and  adhered  to in each county and the city of New York by April first,  two  thousand  twenty-three.  Pursuant  to  section  seven hundred  twenty-two-e  of the county law, the state shall reimburse each county and the city of New York for any costs incurred as  a  result  of implementing such plan.  (iv)  The  office shall, on an ongoing basis, monitor and periodically report on the implementation of, and compliance with, the plan  in  each county and the city of New York.  (c)  Initiatives  to  improve  the  quality  of  indigent defense. (i) Develop  and  implement  a  written  plan  to  improve  the  quality  of constitutionally  mandated  publicly  funded  representation in criminal cases for people who are  unable  to  afford  counsel  and  ensure  that attorneys   providing   such   representation:   (A)  receive  effective supervision and training; (B) have access to and  appropriately  utilize investigators,  interpreters  and expert witnesses on behalf of clients; (C) communicate effectively with their clients; (D) have  the  necessary qualifications  and  experience; and (E) in the case of assigned counsel attorneys, are assigned to cases in accordance with  article  eighteen-b of the county law and in a manner that accounts for the attorney's level of experience and caseload/workload.  (ii)  The  office shall, on an ongoing basis, monitor and periodically report on the implementation of, and compliance with, the plan  in  each county and the city of New York.  (iii) The written plan developed pursuant to this subdivision shall be completed  by  December  first, two thousand seventeen and shall include interim steps for each county and the city of  New  York  for  achieving compliance with the plan.  (iv)  Each county and the city of New York shall, in consultation with the office, undertake good faith efforts to implement the initiatives to improve the quality of indigent defense and such  initiatives  shall  be fully implemented and adhered to in each county and the city of New York by  April  first,  two  thousand twenty-three. Pursuant to section seven hundred twenty-two-e of the county law, the state shall  reimburse  each  county  and  the  city of New York for any costs incurred as a result of implementing such plan.  (d)  Appropriation  of funds. In no event shall a county and a city of New York be obligated to undertake any steps to  implement  the  written plans  under paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this subdivision until funds have been appropriated by the state for such purpose.