DE SB47 | 2015-2016 | 148th General Assembly
Status
Completed Legislative Action
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-0)
Status: Passed on May 28 2015 - 100% progression
Action: 2015-05-28 - Signed by Governor
Text: Latest bill text (Draft #1) [HTML]
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-0)
Status: Passed on May 28 2015 - 100% progression
Action: 2015-05-28 - Signed by Governor
Text: Latest bill text (Draft #1) [HTML]
Summary
Every indigent person accused of a crime has the Constitutional right to effective, conflict-free counsel funded by the state. In Delaware, the Public Defender's Office and the Office of Conflict Counsel are charged with the responsibility of providing counsel for indigent people accused of crimes. The Public Defender's Office is a publicly funded law firm representing about 83% of all indigent defendants in Delaware. The Office of Conflicts Counsel is comprised of a group of lawyers who are independent contractors. They represent clients who cannot be represented by the Public Defender's Office due to a legally recognized conflict of interest. This bill modernizes the business model of the Public Defender's Office and the Office of Conflicts Counsel by consolidating their administrative functions while not compromising the interests of any client. The non-case related functions of both the Public Defender's Office and the Office of Conflicts Counsel will be handled by a Central Administration, all beneath the umbrella of an Office of Defense Services. In particular, the changes implemented by this bill will enhance the quality of representation by the lawyers contracting with the Office of Conflicts Counsel in the areas of IT support, training, client intake, early contact with clients and bill payments. This bill will ensure that all indigent persons accused of crime will be well represented. In addition to the modernization of the business model for delivery of indigent defense services, this bill changes the term of future Chief Defenders from 6 to 8 years. This bill is the same as Senate Bill 28 with the addition of changes to the various references in the entire code required by the name changes.
Title
An Act To Amend The Delaware Code Relating To Criminal Defense For Indigent Persons.
Sponsors
Roll Calls
2015-05-05 - House - House Third Reading (Y: 39 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 2) [PASS]
History
Date | Chamber | Action |
---|---|---|
2015-05-28 | Senate | Signed by Governor |
2015-05-05 | House | Passed by House of Representatives. Votes: Passed 39 YES 0 NO 0 NOT VOTING 2 ABSENT 0 VACANT |
2015-04-22 | House | Reported Out of Committee (JUDICIARY) in House with 7 On Its Merits |
2015-04-16 | House | Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House |
2015-04-01 | Senate | Passed by Senate. Votes: Passed 20 YES 1 NO 0 NOT VOTING 0 ABSENT 0 VACANT |
2015-04-01 | Senate | Lifted From Table in Senate |
2015-04-01 | Senate | Necessary rules are suspended in Senate |
2015-03-31 | Senate | Laid On Table in Senate |