Court Opinion

ID: 9696754
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 18:57:10.116311+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:20:26.353287
License: Public Domain

SABERS, Justice
(concurring specially).
[¶ 14.] I concur with the majority opinion but write specially to note that in granting the writ of certiorari, the Court does not imply approval of a fourteen hour Daubert hearing, or the decision of the attorney to have an expert sit through the entire hearing at great cost to the county and limited benefit to the Defendant. Our decision is limited to the holding that the circuit court must consider the factors outlined in Duffy, 2004 SD 19, 676 N.W.2d 126 and determine, based on those factors and the facts of this case, whether those expenditures were reasonable.
[¶ 15.] Indigent criminal defendants are fully entitled to effective assistance of counsel. Appointed attorneys must be diligent and thorough in researching and trying criminal cases. However, this responsibility does not suspend the attorney’s obligation to use discretion and avoid unwarranted escalation of fees due to unnecessary expenditures of time and resources. An attorney owes the county and the defendant the same consideration she would give a paying client in using time, resources, and money. As the majority opinion noted in Duffy, once the trial judge provides the attorney with “an explanation based upon the factors,” the attorney will bear the responsibility of addressing these factors “in an attempt to justify her charges.” Duffy, 2004 SD 19, ¶ 32, 676 N.W.2d 126.