Ohio Administrative Code › Title 120 - Ohio Public Defender Commission › Chapter 120-1 - General Provisions › Section 120-1-12 - Standards governing contracts with non-profit organizations for the provision of indigent representation

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
(A) A county public defender commission or
			 joint county public defender commission, with the approval of the board of
			 county commissioners, may contract with a non-profit organization to provide
			 indigent legal representation. In order to qualify for state reimbursement,
			 such contract must be approved by the Ohio public defender
			 commission.
(B) The county
			 commission's initial resolution that established the county or joint county
			 public defender commission and the initial resolution that appointed the
			 members to that commission must be on file with the state public defender.
(C) The primary purpose of the
			 non-profit organization must be to provide legal representation to indigent
			 persons. The articles of incorporation of the contractor as filed with the Ohio
			 secretary of state must be on file with the Ohio public defender.
(D) The county public defender commission or
			 joint county public defender commission shall obtain the approval of the county
			 board of commissioners for the entire amount of a contract with a non-profit
			 organization prior to signing the contract. All contracts submitted to the Ohio
			 public defender commission for approval shall contain a resolution of the board
			 of county commissioners or certification from the county fiscal authority that
			 sufficient funds have been appropriated and are available to meet the
			 contracting authority's obligations under the contract.
(E) A contract with a non-profit organization
			 for indigent defense services must include:
(1) Parties. The contract shall identify the
			 parties to the contract, including the county public defender commission or
			 joint county public defender commission, and the non-profit organization and
			 any other public or private person, agency, or organization which is party to
			 the contract.
(2) Scope of the
			 contract. The contract shall specify the courts, categories, and percentages of
			 indigent defense cases in which the non-profit organization is to provide
			 services. The contract shall also specify any categories for which the
			 non-profit organization is not to provide services.
(3) Determination of eligibility. The
			 contract shall specify the procedure by which a defendant's financial
			 eligibility is to be determined and contain a standard of indigency
			 incorporating by reference rule
			 120-1-03
			 of the Administrative Code.
(4)
			 Term of the contract. Contracts shall be for a term of one year. The contract
			 shall specify that the non-profit organization has the responsibility to
			 complete any and all cases once representation is commenced under the terms of
			 the contract. Representation commenced in the trial court shall be continued
			 through all trial court proceedings, including capias and probation violation
			 proceedings. Representation commenced in or taken to an appeals court shall
			 continue until the appeals process is terminated. The contract should specify
			 that the non-profit organization or attorney can withdraw from a case due to a
			 conflict of interest recognized by a court due to a finding of the client's
			 financial ineligibility for the legal services, or due to the attorney's
			 excessive workload as determined pursuant to rule
			 120-1-07 of
			 the Administrative Code.
(5)
			 Attorney staff. The contract may require the non-profit organization to use
			 full-time or part-time attorneys. The contract shall require that attorneys
			 meet the qualification and training requirements established in rule
			 120-1-10
			 of the Administrative Code. If the contract is for the use of part-time
			 attorneys, it shall contain provisions to ensure that the part-time attorneys
			 devote the time necessary to provide quality representation to the indigent
			 clients and comply with the Ohio public defender performance
			 standards.
(6) Support staff,
			 investigators, and experts. The contract should provide for the employment of a
			 support staff of secretaries and non-legal personnel for the office. The
			 contract should also specify how adequate funds will be provided for
			 investigators, social workers, mental health professionals, and other experts
			 necessary to provide quality representation. Experts may also be obtained on
			 motion to the court. To qualify for reimbursement, requests for experts must be
			 held ex parte if so requested in writing by defense counsel. No contract clause
			 may interfere with the selection, supervision, and direction of these persons
			 by the non-profit organization.
(7)
			 Compensation. The contract shall provide that the non-profit organization
			 compensate its employees, subcontractors, and retained experts at rates
			 commensurate with their training, experience, and responsibilities, and
			 compensation paid to persons doing similar work in public agencies in the
			 county. The contract shall also include adequate funding for the training of
			 attorneys and support staff who are employees of the non-profit organization,
			 in subject matters relevant to their job duties.
(8) Extraordinary compensation. The contract
			 shall provide for extraordinary compensation in cases that require an
			 extraordinary amount of time and preparation, including but not limited to
			 cases in which capital punishment is possible. Services that require
			 compensation in excess of the normal rate shall be defined in the
			 contract.
(9) Compensation of
			 additional attorneys and conflicts of interest. The contract shall contain
			 provision for the county to pay assigned counsel where conflicts of interest
			 arise. The contract may contain provisions respecting other extraordinary
			 circumstances creating an inability to provide representation and necessitating
			 compensation for additional attorneys, such as those set out in rule
			 120-1-07 of
			 the Administrative Code.
(10)
			 Financial reports. The contract shall provide that the non-profit organization
			 retain financial records, submit financial reports, and submit to a financial
			 audit at least annually and report these findings to the county public defender
			 commission or joint county public defender commission. Copies of the annual
			 audit shall be forwarded to the Ohio public defender commission as part of the
			 annual report submitted pursuant to sections
			 120.14 and
			 120.24 of the Revised
			 Code.
(11) Standards of
			 representation. The contract shall require that the non-profit organization
			 provide legal services to all clients in a professional, skilled manner
			 consistent with Chapter 120. of the Revised Code, agency 120 of the
			 Administrative Code, any other published rules of the Ohio public defender
			 commission, the Ohio public defender standards and guidelines, the canons of
			 ethics for attorneys in Ohio, and case law and applicable court rules defining
			 the duties of counsel and the rights of defendants in criminal cases. The
			 non-profit organization shall provide that counsel under contract shall be
			 available to eligible defendants at their request or the request of someone
			 acting on their behalf as required by law, including
			 but not limited to at police questioning, arraignment,, formal charging, or
			 indictment. The contractor shall insure that attorneys provided by the contract
			 shall be accessible to applicants in regard to criminal or delinquency matters
			 before formal court appointment.
(12) Insurance. The contract shall require
			 that the non-profit organization provide malpractice insurance for attorneys
			 who are employees of the non-profit organization, or that individual members of
			 the non-profit organization carry sufficient malpractice insurance. No contract
			 shall provide that the non-profit organization holds the government or county
			 public defender commission or joint county public defender commission harmless
			 for the attorney's representation of the clients.
(13) Management information system The
			 contract shall provide that the non-profit organization maintain a case
			 reporting and management information system from which data shall be available
			 and provided to the county public defender commission, joint county public
			 defender commission, or state public defender upon request. The county public
			 defender commission or joint county public defender commission shall report the
			 caseload data required by the Ohio public defender when submitting its monthly
			 request for reimbursement. Any such system shall be maintained independently
			 from client files so as to disclose no privileged information. The case
			 reporting and management information system shall be used to provide the
			 non-profit organization, county public defender commission or joint county
			 public defender commission, and the Ohio public defender commission with
			 caseload information sufficient to insure compliance with the Ohio public
			 defender commission's rules, Chapter 120. of the Revised Code, and the Ohio
			 public defender standards and guidelines.