San Joaquin County Grand Jury San Joaquin County Public Defender Fees 2015-2016 Case No. 1506

Conclusions 1

• CL1
  In San Joaquin County the total cost for the Public Defender and Court Assigned Counsel for fiscal year 2014-15 was nearly $18.3 million. In that same period, the county only recovered $21,520 from defendants assigned court appointed counsel. The Public Defender’s Office handled 3,710 felony cases and 2,750 misdemeanor criminal cases in FY2014-15 (see Appendix C). Had the County collected the $50 fee and the $125 attorney fees for just one-quarter the misdemeanor cases (687) that year, the county treasurer would have received more than $120,000, nearly five times the amount actually collected. And that’s just the misdemeanor cases. The 6th Amendment guarantees indigent defense counsel. Clearly not all defendants are able to pay, but the Board of Supervisors has an obligation to the taxpayers to make sure the Public Defender’s Office is reimbursed for court appointed counsel when the defendant is able to pay. If a defendant’s ability to pay is properly vetted and county officials communicate among themselves to make sure there is follow through, this can be accomplished. Acknowledgements The 2015-2016 Grand Jury appreciates the steps the County Administrator has taken to review the Public Defender’s process and all County departments responsible for collecting fees from citizens, clients and defendants. Disclaimers Grand Jury reports are based on documentary evidence and the testimony of sworn or admonished witnesses, not on conjecture or opinion. However, the Grand Jury is precluded by law from disclosing such evidence except upon the specific approval of the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, or another judge appointed by the Presiding Judge (Penal Code sections 911. 924.1(a) and 929). Similarly, the Grand Jury is precluded by law from disclosing the identity of witnesses except upon an order of the court for narrowly defined purposes (Penal Code sections 924.2 and 929). 6 Response Requirements California Penal Code sections 933 and 933.05 require that specific responses to all findings and recommendations contained in this report be submitted to the Presiding Judge of the San Joaquin County Superior Court within 90 days of receipt of the report. The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors shall respond to each finding and recommendation. Mail a hard copy of the response to: Honorable José L. Alva, Presiding Judge San Joaquin County Superior Court P.O. Box 201022 Stockton, CA 95201 Or hand deliver to: 222 E. Weber Ave., Room 303 Stockton, CA 95202 Also, please email the response to Ms. Trisa Martinez, Staff Secretary to the Grand Jury at grandjury@sjcourts.org 7 Appendices Appendix A PENAL CODE SECTION 987.5 Penal Code section 987.5 concerns a registration fee ($50) that shall be assessed at the time a public defender is appointed by the court and states: “ (a) Every defendant shall be assessed a registration fee not to exceed fifty dollars when represented by appointed counsel. Notwithstanding this subdivision, no fee shall be required of any defendant that is financially unable to pay the fee. “(b) At the time of appointment of counsel by the court, or upon commencement of representation by the public defender if prior to court appointment, the defender shall be asked if he or she is financially able to pay the registration fee or any portion thereof. If the defendant indicates that he or she is able to pay the fee or a portion thereof, the court or public defender shall make an assessment in accordance with the ability to pay. No fee shall be assessed against any defendant who asserts that he or she is unable to pay the fee or any portion thereof. No other inquiry concerning the defendant’s ability to pay shall be made until proceedings are held pursuant to Section 987.8. “(c) No defendant shall be denied the assistance of appointed counsel due solely to a failure to pay the registration fee. An order to pay the registration fee may be enforced in the manner provide for enforcement of civil judgments generally, but may not be enforced by contempt. (d) The fact that a defendant has or has not been assessed a fee pursuant to this section shall have no effect in any later proceedings held pursuant to Section 987.8, except that the defendant shall be given credit for any amounts paid as a registration fee toward any lien or assessment imposed pursuant to Section 987.8. (e) This section shall be operative in a county only upon the adoption of a resolution or ordinance by the board of supervisors electing to establish the registration fee and setting forth the manner in which the funds shall be collected and distributed. Collection procedures, accounting measures, and the distribution of the funds received pursuant to this section shall be within the discretion of the board of supervisors. 8 Appendix B PENAL CODE SECTION 987.8(b) Penal Code section 987.8(b) addresses the issue of the ability of a defendant to pay for legal representation by the County Public Defender and states: “In any case in which a defendant is provided legal assistance, either through the public defender or private counsel appointed by the court, upon conclusion of the criminal proceeding in the trail court, or upon the withdrawal of the public defender or appointed private counsel, the court may, in its discretion, hold on such additional hearing within six months of the conclusion of the criminal proceedings. The court may, in its discretion, order the defendant to appear before a county officer designed by the court to make an inquiry into the ability of the defendant to pay all or a portion of the legal assistance provided.” Section 27750 of the California Government Code states: “The board of supervisors of any county may designate a county officer to make financial evaluations of defendants and other persons liable for reimbursable costs under the law. A county officer so designated shall be known as the county financial evaluation officer, whose duties shall be to determine, according to the standards set by the board of supervisors and at the direction of the court, the financial ability of parties who have incurred, or will incur, attorney's fees or other court-related or court-ordered costs, which costs by law must be waived or the services provided free of charge if the party is indigent.” 9 Appendix C Public Defender’s Office Workload data 10

No Responses Found 1

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.