BENTON COUNTY OFFICE OF PUBLIC DEFENSE

Transcription

1 BENTON COUNTY OFFICE OF PUBLIC DEFENSE REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS JUVENILE DEFENSE CONTRACTS Summary Application deadline is March 25, 2016 but Benton County reserves the right to review and evaluate applications as they are received and to award contracts whenever it sees fit including before the application deadline so early application is encouraged. Benton County seeks applications from interested and qualified attorneys to provide legally mandated public defense services to juveniles charged with criminal offenses in Benton County Juvenile Court. The following contracts are available: Number of Contracts Contract Type Contract Caseload Compensation 1 Misdemeanors and 235 cases annually $72,000 annually 3 Misdemeanors and 235 cases annually $78,000 annually including Class A 2 Misdemeanors and Conflicts only Up to 10 cases annually Per case: $450 per felony $200 per misdemeanor All contracts will commence May 1, 2016 and expire December 31, All contract defenders receiving contracts under this RFQ will be expected to defend both misdemeanor and felony juvenile cases as assigned. Please note: This RFQ does not include contracts for Juvenile Drug Court or Chemical Dependency Disposition Alternative ( CDDA ). Contracts for defending those cases will be awarded directly by Juvenile Justice Administration on a bi-county basis. Background Benton County provides legally mandated public defense services to juveniles charged with criminal offenses through the Benton County Office of Public Defense ( BCOPD ). Although Benton & Franklin Counties presently operate a joint Superior Court judicial district, BCOPD only provides public defense services on Benton County cases and this RFQ is only for such services. Benton County Office of Public Defense is a professional public defense agency staffed by full-time administrative staff including a Public Defense Manager, and full-time staff-defenders. BCOPD operates

2 under a public defense ordinance enacted by the Benton County Board of County Commissioners, and is always guided by its Mission Statement and Values. Currently, most of the public defense services provided in Benton County (including all Juvenile Court defense services) are provided through contracts with private attorneys. Duties Contract defenders are responsible for all aspects of effective and competent defense of criminal cases filed against juveniles. This includes, but is not limited to: Making necessary court appearances and advocating on behalf of clients Investigating cases and analyzing legal issues Meeting with clients as necessary to inform them of their rights, educate them about their case and its status, and involve them with case defense strategy as necessary and appropriate Filing and arguing motions as necessary Conducting trial as necessary Caseload Benton County and BCOPD are mindful of the provisions of Washington Supreme Court Standards for Indigent Defense ( SID ) relating to public defender caseloads and provides the following information to assist applicants in determining whether any of the available contracts would fit into their current practices. All BCOPD public defense contracts, as written, comply with SID caseload standards (in conjunction with Benton County s duly adopted Case Weighting System). Contract defenders are personally responsible for ensuring that such contracts, when integrated with their private practices, continue to comply with such caseload standards and the following historical and contract information is provided for contract defenders to do so. Historic Caseload Trends Caseload and Attorney of the Week Statistics (previous trends) Year Filings Benton Atty of Week Total Appointments Credits (Benton) (71.2% 1 ) (72.8%) (72.2%) (69.5%) Attorney of the week is a rotational assignment whereby the assigned attorney is responsible, for a full week at a time, all probation violation, first appearance, and other miscellaneous docket or consultation matters that are not specifically associated with a filed criminal case (including, for example, diversion consultations). Pursuant to Benton County s case weighting system, probation violation and first appearance representation during Attorney of the Week rotations are counted as 1/3 of a case equivalent. 1 This percentage figure denotes the percentage of bi-county totals that are attributable to Benton County cases.

3 Caseload Calculation Available Contracts Caseload limits in available contracts are calculated on the following basis: All new criminal cases are regarded as 1 case (whether misdemeanor or felony and including Class A ) All Attorney of the Week assignments are regarded as 1/3 case Conflict assignments to dependency matters (which occur infrequently) are regarded as 5 cases Based on historic data and purely for guidance purposes and not for contract offer purposes, contractors should expect to devote approximately 40% of their time (under contract) to attorney-of-the-week duties and 60% to cases on their caseload. Caseload Limits and Compliance with Standards The available contracts have the following caseload limits and correlation with SID caseload provisions: Number of Contracts Contract Type Contract Caseload Correlation with SID caseload provisions 1 Misdemeanors and 235 cases annually 94% of full-time caseload 3 Misdemeanors and including Class A 235 cases annually 94% of full-time caseload 2 Misdemeanors and Conflicts only 10 cases annually 4% of full time caseload Compensation Compensation consists of a monthly base compensation as well as a trial per diem and compensation for out-of-pocket costs associated with defense of individual cases. Base Compensation Number of Contracts Contract Type Contract Caseload Compensation 1 Misdemeanors and 235 cases annually $72,000 annually Payable at $6,000 3 Misdemeanors and including Class A 2 Misdemeanors and Conflicts only monthly 235 cases annually $78,000 annually Payable at $6,500 monthly 10 cases annually Payable per case: $450 per felony $200 per misdemeanor

4 Other Compensation In addition to the Base Compensation, contracts will also provide the following compensation: $65 per hour for homicide cases either completely handled in Juvenile Court (ie without be declined to adult court) or for process of preparation for and handling of declination hearing $300 per full day and $150 per half day of trial or decline hearing $450 per felony and $200 per misdemeanor assigned in excess of contractual caps (optional and only if attorney certifies that he/she meets caseload standards despite additional cases) $450 per docket for Truancy or At-Risk-Youth dockets (optional) All necessary expenses required for appropriately defending cases including, but not limited to, the following are paid by Benton County by and through a pre-approval process managed by the Benton County Office of Public Defense: Expert costs Investigations Records copying Support professionals (eg transcriptionists, translators etc) Scope of Services The services contemplated by this RFQ consist of all aspects of criminal defense of juveniles charged with crimes in Benton & Franklin Counties Juvenile Court. The successful candidate would be responsible for fully, completely, and diligently representing criminal defendants according to standards set by applicable statutes, caselaw and the Rules of Professional Conduct. Examples of responsibilities include, but are limited to: Investigating or otherwise making appropriate inquiry into the facts of given cases Consulting with defendants, advising of the nature of charges, discussing possible resolutions, formulating defenses, and preparing for trial if appropriate Conferring and negotiating with prosecuting attorneys about cases Attending any and all court appearances pertaining to assigned cases including but not limited to arraignment, pretrial hearings, omnibus, trial, sentencing and restitution hearings Retaining and supervising the services of experts and/or investigators as appropriate Researching legal issues, and filing and arguing motions as appropriate In addition, on a rotating basis as assigned by Juvenile Justice Center staff or Benton County Office of Public Defense, incumbent would be responsible for serving as Attorney of the Week. The Attorney of the Week is responsible for covering various dockets on every day of the particular week including probation violation dockets and initial appearance dockets. The Attorney of the Week rotation is significantly shorter in light of the split between Benton and Franklin Counties. Specifically, contract

5 awardees should expect to be Attorney of the Week once every four weeks but will only be responsible for Benton County cases during any assigned week 2. Performance Standards Monitoring As part of its on-going efforts to encourage and maintain high-quality, legally effective public defense services, BCOPD uses Performance Standards Monitoring ( PSM ) to gauge the effectiveness of public defenders. PSM involves the collection of key performance metrics from each public defender as well as an in-court observation program. The key performance metrics collected are: Trials held 3.5, 3.6 and other significant motions filed Motions filed under RCW for competency evaluations Number of cases disposed of at trial readiness with dismissal or other comparable favorable result Number of cases where investigative services were requested Number of visits to incarcerated clients in Benton County Jail Number of client complaints The evaluation standards during in-court observation are as follows: Attorney s preparedness and readiness Attorney s interactions with clients Attorney s ability and willingness to advocate to the court on behalf of clients All applicants must agree to cooperate fully with Performance Standards Monitoring including cooperating with Benton County in providing timely, accurate, and complete data to support Performance Standards Monitoring. Attorney performance, as gauged using Performance Standards Monitoring, will be used for contract renewal and retention purposes, as well as for choosing public defenders for special assignments. Qualifications Required Qualifications for All Contracts Active membership (in good standing) in the Washington State Bar; At least one year full-time experience either as a criminal defense attorney or criminal prosecutor; Must have tried at least two criminal matters (either jury or bench trial) as a criminal defense attorney or criminal prosecutor, either as first or second chair (with significant involvement observer only second chair trials do not count toward these minimum qualification standards); 2 Among other things, this means that attorneys serving Attorney of the Week duties will only be responsible for attending dockets where Benton County cases may be held and furthermore, if there are no Benton County cases scheduled for a bi-county docket, attorneys would not need to attend the docket.

6 Familiarity with Washington criminal statutes in particular pertaining to Juvenile Court (Title 13, RCW); Good aptitude for dealing with juvenile clients and their families; Familiarity with mental health issues including knowledge of when need to obtain expert services is triggered; Good working knowledge of alternative dispositions available to juveniles including, but not limited to, diversion, Chemical Dependency Dispositional Alternative, Special Sex Offender Dispositional Alternative, Diversion, and Drug Court; Working knowledge of collateral consequences of criminal adjudication in Juvenile Court; Must have excellent caseload management skills that are appropriate for a caseload of the size anticipated by this RFQ; Familiarity with, and ability to certify to, indigent defense standards as applicable to Juvenile Court cases and as; Either currently insured or able to procure insurance meeting following parameters: o Malpractice insurance in the amount of $1 million per occurrence, $1 million general aggregate and a deductible of no less than $10,000 o Commercial general liability insurance in the amount of $1 million per occurrence, $2 million general aggregate Demonstrated commitment to public defense, juvenile clients and service to indigent clients; Willingness and ability to meet with appointed clients (including clients incarcerated in the Juvenile Detention Center) within 72 hours of appointment; Additional Qualifications for Class A Felony contracts: Trial counsel alone of record in five Class B and C felony trials (either in adult or juvenile court) Attorneys who are very close to Class A Felony qualification and have a specific, written and realistic plan for achieving qualification within six months may be considered for the award of a Class A Felony contract. However, such a contract would compensate the attorney at the $72,000 level until the start of the month immediately following the date when the attorney is able to provide affirmative proof to BCOPD of qualification under SID for Class A Felony juvenile cases. How to Apply All applicants must follow these specific instructions to apply for contract award. Applicants who do not follow instructions may be, at the County s specific and sole discretion, disqualified for contract award. Application Form The application form must be used by all applicants. Additional Material (for applicants who are not current BCOPD public defenders only) In addition to the application form, please provide the following: Cover letter describing why you are interested in providing public defense services in Juvenile Court, describing your past experience as a public defender and stating whether or not you are familiar with Washington Standards for Indigent Defense ( SID );

7 Either proof of current insurance of the type and in the amounts listed above or a statement that you will be able to obtain same before or contemporaneous to award and execution of contract; Applications must be received no later than March 25, However, Benton County reserves the right to review and evaluate applications as they are received and to award contracts whenever it sees fit including before the application deadline so early application is encouraged.