Opinion ID: 1120830
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Reimbursement for Legal Services Provided by the Public Defender's Office

Text: The applicable statutes relating to costs of defense reimbursement for public defender services provide: (a) The determination of whether a person covered by W.S. 7-6-104 is a needy person shall be deferred until his first appearance in court or in a suit for payment or reimbursement under W.S. 7-6-108, whichever occurs earlier. Thereafter, the court shall determine, with respect to each proceeding, whether he is a needy person. (b) In determining whether a person is a needy person and in determining the extent of his inability to pay, the court shall consider the standards promulgated pursuant to W.S. 7-6-103(c)(vii). Release on bail does not necessarily prevent a person from being determined to be needy. In each case the person, subject to the penalties for perjury, shall certify in writing, or by other record, the material factors relating to his ability to pay as the court prescribes. (c) To the extent that a person receives the services set out in W.S. 7-6-104, and is able to provide some funds toward the costs associated with such services, the presiding court may order the person to reimburse the state for the cost of the services provided. In making such an order, the court shall consider the financial resources of the person and the expenses and services provided in light of the state public defender's standard fee schedule. Where a person is initially provided with counsel pursuant to W.S. 7-6-105(a), but subsequently retains private counsel, the court may order the person to reimburse the state for the services already provided. (d) If the court orders probation before sentence, suspended sentence or probation, the court shall order the needy person as a condition of sentence or probation to repay the state for expenses and services provided by appointed attorneys pursuant to the state public defender's standard fee schedule. W.S. 7-6-106; and (a) Within six (6) years after the date the services were rendered, the attorney general may sue on behalf of the state to recover payment or reimbursement from each person who has received legal assistance or other benefits under this act. (b) Amounts recovered under this section shall be paid into the state general fund. W.S. 7-6-108. The validity of reimbursement for Seaton is adversely determined by our decisions in King v. State, 780 P.2d 943, 957 (Wyo. 1989) and Keller v. State, 771 P.2d 379, 387 (Wyo. 1989). There are two problems created by statute application for validation of the sentence provision. In first instance, there is nothing of record demonstrating that the public defender has adopted a validly computed standard fee schedule. This record also provides no evidence demonstrating how the defense attorney fee reimbursement charge was computed, including hourly rate, time or any lode star itemization. However, a more serious difficulty exists. We stated in Keller, 771 P.2d 379, and restated even more forcefully in King, 780 P.2d at 957 and now repeat emphatically, the district court [can] not order reimbursement without first determining the defendant's ability to pay. W.S. 7-6-106(c) states in pertinent part: [T]he court shall consider the financial resources of the person and the expenses and services provided in light of the state public defender's standard fee schedule. Cf. Burke v. State, 746 P.2d 852 (Wyo. 1987), decided under the law that existed prior to the 1987 revision. See also Phillips v. State, 553 P.2d 1037, 1041 (Wyo. 1976) for a discussion of ability to pay any public defender reimbursement determination.