Laserfiche WebLink
<br /> <br />1 <br /> <br /> <br />. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />ORDINANCE NO. 4114-25 <br /> <br />An ORDINANCE relating to Indigent Defense Standards, amending EMC 2.108.390. <br /> <br />WHEREAS, <br />A. The City is required by state and federal law to provide legal defense services to indigent <br />persons charged with crimes in the Everett Municipal Court. <br />B. The City has provided these services through contracted defense attorneys for decades. This is <br />at great expense to City taxpayers. <br />C. RCW 10.101.030 states the following regarding public indigent defense services, requiring the <br />adoption of standards for the delivery of public defense services: <br />Each county or city under this chapter shall adopt standards for the delivery of public <br />defense services . . . . The standards endorsed by the Washington state bar association for <br />the provision of public defense services should serve as guidelines to local legislative <br />authorities in adopting standards. <br />D. The City Council last adopted standards in 2015. Since then, the Washington Supreme Court <br />and the Washington State Bar Association have adopted orders and standards for indigent <br />defense. Some of these standards and order have differing requirements and/or may be <br />inconsistent with each other. <br />E. The purpose of this ordinance is to clarify that the City requires compliance to the orders of the <br />Washington Supreme Court. This City will also require compliance with standards of the <br />Washington State Bar Association to the extent those standards are called out in public defense <br />services contract(s). <br />F. This ordinance does not limit the City’s ability to request that the Washington Supreme Court or <br />Washington state bar association to reconsider/amend orders and standards or to take other <br />legal action to achieve uniform and reasonable indigent defense standards. <br />NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY OF EVERETT DOES ORDAIN: <br />Section 1. EMC 2.108.390 is hereby amended as follows, with underlined text added and strikethrough <br />text deleted: <br />2.108.390 Standards. <br />Indigent defense services shall be in accordance with the following standards: <br />A. Indigent defense services shall be provided by attorneys under contract with the City. <br />1. An indigent defense contract shall contain provisions and standards for <br />compensation of counsel, duties and responsibilities of counsel, case load limits and types <br />of cases, responsibility for expert witness fees and other costs associated with <br />representation, administrative expenses, support services, reports of attorney activity <br />and vouchers, training, supervision, monitoring and evaluation of attorneys, substitution <br />of attorneys or assignment of contracts, limitations on private practice of contract