ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

ASSEMBLY, No. 2720

 

with committee amendments

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED: FEBRUARY 10, 1997

 

      The Assembly Judiciary Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 2720.

      The bill requires each municipality to have a municipal public defender to represent indigent defendants in certain municipal court proceedings. The bill defines the role, responsibilities and duties of the office, and provides a mechanism for funding.

      The bill requires that each municipal court shall have a least one municipal public defender appointed by the municipal governing body. Municipal public defenders would be appointed for a term of three years and they would be compensated at an annual salary fixed by the municipality. Municipalities may appoint more than one municipal public defender. If a municipality does appoint more than one municipal defender, a chief municipal public defender who would have authority over the others, would be designated by the municipality.

      If there is a vacancy in the office of municipal public defender, if the municipal public defender is temporarily unavailable or if a conflict of interest precludes a municipal public defender from handling a proceeding, the municipal court may appoint any qualified attorney to provide representation. Unless rates are otherwise established by the municipality, the attorney shall be entitled to compensation in the same rate as the rate used in conflict cases in the public defender office. The attorney shall meet all requirements and carry out all the duties of the municipal public defender for the case that is the subject of the appointment.

      A municipal public defender may be removed by the municipal governing body for good cause upon due notice and an opportunity to be heard.

      The municipal public defender is required to represent, except in cases of temporary unavailability or conflict of interest, any indigent defendant charged in municipal court with an offense where there is a consequence of magnitude. Eligibility is determined on the basis of need in accordance with specific factors. The bill specifies means by which, in appropriate cases, the municipal attorney may recover all or part of the money in connection with the representation. The bill provides that the municipal attorney may file a notice setting forth services rendered to the defendant and the reasonable value thereof with the Clerk of the Superior Court. The filing of the notice with the Clerk of the Superior Court shall constitute a lien on property for a period of 10 years from the date of filing.

      The bill repeals N.J.S.2B:12-28 but recompiles the portion of that statute which provides for an application fee in section 17 of the bill. A municipality may require a person applying for representation by a municipal public defender to pay an application fee of not more than $100.00. The municipal court may waive any required application fee, in whole or in part, if the court determines, that the application fee represents an unreasonable burden on the person seeking representation. The committee amended this section of the bill to clarify that a municipality may require this fee by ordinance.

      The committee amendments would also delete sections 18 and 19 of the bill. Section 19 of the bill would have established a $5.00 court assessment fee which would have been imposed on every violation of any statute or ordinance in municipal court. Section 18 of the bill would have created the "Municipal Public Defender Fund" to reimburse municipalities for the costs associated with employing a municipal public defender.

      In addition, the committee amendments in section 7 of the bill delete the provision which would have required consent from an attorney prior to the attorney accepting any case.

      The committee adopted certain technical amendments including ones which eliminated all references to "intermunicipal court" and replaced it with the more appropriate term "joint municipal court."