CHAPTER 604-A ADEQUATE REPRESENTATION FOR INDIGENT DEFENDANTS IN CRIMINAL CASES
Section 604-A:10
604-A:10 Rulemaking; Records Required; Judicial Council; Commissioner of Administrative Services. –
I. The judicial council shall keep records of the notification of eligibility and assignment of counsel as submitted by the courts of the state pursuant to supreme court order 81-5A and subsequent related orders. In addition to any other use the judicial council shall make of these records, the judicial council shall keep records including the following information and compile such information on a monthly basis:
(a) The name of the courts, including the location and the type of the court.
(b) The type of the case as defined by the most serious offense charged in the case, according to the following categories:
(1) Homicide
(2) Other felony
(3) Misdemeanor
(4) Juvenile
(5) Other
(c) Whether the case was assigned to a private attorney or a public defender.
II. When a final bill has been approved for payment to a private attorney, the judicial council shall record the following information:
(a) The type of case as defined in RSA 604-A:10, I(b).
(b) The amount of the attorney's fee.
III. The judicial council shall also compile the gross monthly cost for bills approved for payment for expenses other than counsel, including those pursuant to RSA 604-A:6.
IV. The commissioner of administrative services shall, with the approval of the attorney general, adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A, governing determinations of eligibility for payment of indigent defense expenditures, determinations of repayment schedules, financial and credit investigations, and any other matters the commissioner deems necessary or advisable for the performance of duties under this chapter.
V. The judicial council shall adopt standards relative to appointment for juvenile counsel. Such standards shall establish training, experience, and other qualifications for attorneys to represent minors in such proceedings, and shall be developed with consideration of relevant national standards including, but not limited to, the Juvenile Justice Standards of the Institute of Judicial Administration and American Bar Association. The council shall develop the standards required by this section in consultation with the judicial branch, the New Hampshire Bar Association, New Hampshire Legal Assistance, the New Hampshire Public Defender, the Disability Rights Center of New Hampshire, and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire, and shall adopt them no later than July 1, 2022.
Source. 1983, 120:4. 1985, 399:3. 1989, 345:11, 12, eff. July 1, 1989. 2002, 250:5, eff. May 17, 2002. 2014, 215:26, eff. July 1, 2015. 2021, 207:2, Pt. I, Sec. 5, eff. Jan. 1, 2022.