New Statewide Indigent System in Georgia
With the
2003 enactment of the Georgia Indigent Defense Act, O.C.G.A. §
17-12-8 (2003), the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council
("GPDSC") was created as the centerpiece of a major overhaul of
indigent defense services in Georgia. As an independent agency
within the judicial branch of the state government, GPDSC is charged
with overseeing indigent defense in the state and "assuring that
adequate and effective legal representation is provided, independent
of political considerations or private
interests."
The eleven-member Georgia Public Defender Standards Council is required
by statute to create and supervise a statewide public defender
system that includes at least one office in each of Georgia's 49
judicial circuits. The
offices are to begin operation January 1, 2005. The
Council is also required to create standards to which the indigent
defense system must adhere.
Prior
to passage of the Georgia Defense Act, Georgia's indigent defense
system was funded and organized on a local level by the state's 159
counties. The Georgia
Indigent Defense Council was a statewide oversight body for the
county-based system that provided counties some supplemental state
funding, but it lacked any real authority over the county
systems. The Georgia Public Defender Standards Council assumed the
powers and duties of the Georgia Indigent Defense Council on
December 31, 2003.
The
Georgia Indigent Defense Act was drafted to respond to
recommendations made in December 2002 by a commission appointed by
the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. The Chief Justice's
Commission on Indigent Defense recommended, among other things, that
indigent defense services be funded primarily by the state, and that
services be provided with greater state oversight and accountability
through judicial circuit public defender offices. The Commission based its
recommendations on a statewide study conducted by The Spangenberg
Group and released in December 2002. A subsequent study conducted
for the Commission by The Spangenberg Group and completed in June
2003 reviewed the effects of implementing Alabama v. Shelton, 535
U.S. 654 (2002) in Georgia.
Shelton forbids imposition of "any punishment of confinement,
probation or other loss of liberty, or impose any fine, fee, or cost
enforceable by confinement, probation or other loss of liberty"
without assistance of counsel.
The reports of the Commission and The Spangenberg Group are
available at www.georgiacourts.org/aoc/press/idc/idc.html.
The
GPDSC has an exceptional staff that is implementing and managing the
new programs. Michael
Mears is Director of the GPDSC, Jim Martin is the Chief Legal
Officer and Gary Parker is the Deputy Director of Training and
Performance Standards.
Mr. Mears served as the Director of the Georgia Multi-County
Public Defender's Office (MPD) from 1992 until his appointment to
the GPDSC. At the MPD
he was responsible for supervising a staff of attorneys and
investigators who monitored all death penalty cases in the state of
Georgia, and provided direct representation in some cases. Prior to joining the MPD he
was the elected Mayor of the City of Decatur, Georgia. Mr. Martin served as
Commissioner of the Department of Human Resources and was a member
of the Georgia House of Representatives. He also had experience as a
lobbyist for the Atlanta Legal Aid Society and the Georgia Legal
Services Program. Mr.
Parker served as a State Senator, was a member of the Judicial
Nominating Commission, and has served on the board of the Georgia
Resource Center and the Georgia Indigent Defense Council. The staff
also includes many of the former staff members of the Georgia
Indigent Defense Council.
The
new circuit public defender offices will be responsible for
providing representation to defendants charged with state felonies
or misdemeanors and for representing juveniles facing confinement or
probation. Pursuant to
statute, a city, county, or consolidated government may contract
with the public defender office in its circuit for representation of
indigent defendants charged with violating city, county, or
consolidated government ordinances or state laws. Notwithstanding a contract
for this purpose, the city, county, or consolidated government must
adhere to all standards adopted by the Council for representation of
indigent defendants.
The
statute requires that five-member Circuit Public Defender Selection
Panels be appointed in each judicial circuit to select the local
Circuit Public Defender.
The panels are composed of five members: one each appointed
by the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker, the Chief
Justice and the chief judge of the Superior Court. Members must
reside in the judicial district and have experience or an interest
in indigent defense.
Minimum qualifications required by the Act for an attorney to
serve as Circuit Public Defender are that the candidate must be at
least 25 years old, be admitted and licensed to practice law in the
highest court of general jurisdiction in any state for at least
three years, be a member of the State Bar of Georgia in good
standing, and if previously disbarred, have been reinstated as
provided by law. The
GPDSC developed additional qualifications to use in the selection
process. Some of the additional qualifications are: "a strong interest
in the defense of indigent people . . . sufficient experience in the
defense of criminal cases . . . to permit him/her to evaluate the
qualifications of the Assistant Public Defenders . . . sufficient
trial experience in the defense of criminal cases . . . to permit
him/her to train or assist in the training of less experienced
Assistant Public Defenders . . . leadership skills and ability to
oversee the management of a Circuit Public Defender office . . .
[and] ability to establish and maintain sound fiscal policy and
practice."
