23A-51-6. Commission on Indigent Legal Services--Duties--Promulgation of rules.

The commission shall oversee indigent representation services to ensure effective assistance of counsel in the state court system where there is a right to counsel under state or federal law. The commission shall:

(1)    Appoint a chief defender to head the Office of Indigent Legal Services, as provided in § 23A-51-9;

(2)    Explore mechanisms for the state to ensure adequate funding for indigent representation services statewide, including state and local governments sharing the cost of such services;

(3)    Advocate for resources and policies necessary to ensure effective indigent representation services statewide; and

(4)    Promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 1-26 to:

(a)    Establish minimum training standards, maximum caseloads allowed, and procedures to reassign conflict cases;

(b)    Monitor, evaluate, and enforce compliance with the standards established in subsection (4)(a);

(c)    Establish hourly rates and travel reimbursement rates for attorneys appointed or contracted by the Office of Indigent Legal Services that are comparable to those paid to other attorneys for similar case types;

(d)    Provide auditing and monitoring of billings for private appointed attorneys and vendor compensation to standardize compensation rates established in subsection (4)(c); and

(e)    Provide for the collection of data from state and local systems to inform the oversight duties of the commission.

Source: SL 2024, ch 95, § 6, eff. Mar. 18, 2024.