The State Public Defender filed emergency administrative rules to clarify the use of the court appointed attorney lists. For example, there are several attorneys with a contract with the State Public Defender in certain counties whom the judges want to appoint in a non-SPD designated county. The rules clarify that this is permissble.

The new rule also conforms the State Public Defender administrative rules with legislative changes made on SF 475 in 2009 by permitting the State Public Defender to deny claims for trial court appointments on the same basis as denial of claims at the appellate level if the court appointment does not follow the process set out in Iowa Code section 815.10.

The text of the rule and notice are at the following link:

Rule and Notice

The Public Defenders Association of Iowa will host its annual Public Defender Criminal Law Seminar on June 17 through June, 19, 2009. See the new PDA web site for details.

SAVE THE DATE - June 17-19, 2009

Public Defender’s Association 2009 Seminar at the Stoney Creek Inn, Johnston, Iowa.

Additional Information will follow or contact Dennis Westerman at (319) 291-2335 Email: dwesterman@spd.state.ia.us.

A short, hot-off-the-presses report on the state of public defense in the United States. CQ Researcher did a nice job and the article hits on many of the issues confronting defenders today. A quick and worthwhile read.

Report

Dear Friends,

Less than one year after a national report found Iowa prisons and jails maintain the highest rate of racial disparity in the nation, Governor Chet Culver yesterday signed legislation requiring examination of the racial and ethnic impact of all new sentencing laws prior to passage.

"Iowa's aggressive attempt to address racial and ethnic disparity can jumpstart a movement for fairness around the nation," said Marc Mauer, Executive Director of The Sentencing Project and co-author of the report that helped instigate the legislative response.

Passage of the Minority Impact Statement Bill provides a means for legislators to anticipate any unwarranted disparities and enables them to consider alternative policies to accomplish the goals of legislation without causing undue negative effects on public safety. High rates of incarceration among people of color signal a failure to address social and economic problems within communities and can indicate bias within the justice system. The consequences for communities are disproportionate rates of voter disenfranchisement, unemployment, and disassociation among its citizens.

Representative Wayne Ford (D- Des Moines) authored the legislation, House File 2393, which garnered broad bipartisan support when passed by Iowa's House and Senate. In a statement he said, "I believe that we need to be tough on crime, but we must also make sure that our laws are fair and equitable."

In July, The Sentencing Project released its report, Uneven Justice: State Rates of Incarceration by Race and Ethnicity, which found that Iowa incarcerates blacks at a rate 13 times that of whites, more than double the national average. Iowa is the first state to pass legislation examining the racial and ethnic impact of new criminal justice policies. Bills to enact minority impact statements are also pending in Connecticut and Illinois. Last year, Oregon was the first state to introduce similar legislation. For more information, visit the Governor's Web site.

- The Sentencing Project

From The Sentencing Project:

President George W. Bush this week signed into law the Second Chance Act of 2007 - legislation inspired by his 2004 State of the Union address - which authorizes $362 million to expand assistance for people currently incarcerated, those returning to their communities after incarceration, and children with parents in prison.

The Second Chance Act was first introduced in 2004, by then-Representative Rob Portman (R-OH) and Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), to help the nearly 700,000 people leaving prison each year. It quickly gained broad bipartisan support and earned the backing of law enforcement, state and local government, religious and justice reform organizations.

Passage of the Second Chance Act highlights a new political approach to crime prevention. Imprisoning 2 million Americans has diverted enormous resources that could have been used more effectively in reducing crime. Programs that provide housing, drug treatment, education and employment provide more cost-effective approaches to producing public safety.

The Second Chance Act seeks to promote public safety by reducing recidivism rates among people reentering communities after prison. Presently, two-thirds of formerly incarcerated people are rearrested within three years after release. The services to be funded under the Second Chance Act include:

· mentoring programs for adults and juveniles leaving prison;

· drug treatment during and after incarceration, including family-based treatment for incarcerated parents;

· education and job training in prison;

· alternatives to incarceration for parents convicted of non-violent drug offenses;

· supportive programming for children of incarcerated parents; and

· early release for certain elderly prisoners convicted of non-violent offenses.

For decades, political concerns have trumped research findings in promoting harsh sentencing laws. Passage of the Second Chance Act signals that a bipartisan consensus exists for offering opportunities to those who are at risk of committing crimes. Innovation in crime prevention should be applauded; incarceration should not be the only option.

Click here to watch the President's signing ceremony or read his remarks.

Ladies & Gentlemen:

It’s my pleasure to announce that Peter Persaud, First Assistant Public Defender at our Iowa City office, has been selected to succeed Dick Klausner as Iowa City Chief Attorney upon Dick’s retirement on June 27th.

Peter has been a public defender his entire legal career. After graduation from Drake Law School and admission to the bar in 1986, Peter became a public defender at our Mason City office. After a transfer to Iowa City in 1991, Peter was promoted to First Assistant where, among other duties, he’s been responsible for major case representation, training of other assigned public defenders, and assisting Dick in the leadership of the office. Peter is also a graduate of the University of Iowa with a BBA in 1983, and of the Criminal Defense College at Mercer Law School in Macon, Georgia, in 1989.

We welcome Peter into SPD leadership ranks and look forward to great things from him and the Iowa City office in years to come.



Tom

You may remember awhile back when one of Avis' lawyers was detained in lockup after arguing with the judge (imagine: a lawyer arguing with a judge?!) Here is the latest on the story.

From the ABAJournal.com

http://www.abajournal.com/news/dc_judge_cited_for_ordering_detention_of_talkative_pd/

Legal Ethics

D.C. Judge Cited for Ordering Detention of Talkative PD

Posted 3 hours, 8 minutes ago

By Debra Cassens Weiss

A Washington, D.C., judge who ordered the detention of a public defender who wouldn’t stop talking has accepted a determination that he violated the judicial ethics code.

Judge John Bayly Jr. said he acted because the PD, Liyah Brown, argued with him over whether her client was homeless—and kept on arguing even when he told her to stop. On Bayly’s order, Brown was shackled and held in a cell for about 45 minutes.

The D.C. Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure found that Bayly violated an ethics rule requiring judges to be patient, dignified and courteous, Legal Times reports. Bayly accepted the finding and sent Brown a letter of apology.

********************************************

Here is a blog that is already covering the story: http://jonathanturley.org/2008/03/21/dc-judge-sanctioned-over-jailing-talkative-public-defender/

D.C. Judge Sanctioned Over Jailing Talkative Public Defender

Published 1, March 21, 2008 Bizarre , Courts , Criminal law , Lawyering

Washington, D.C. Judge John Bayly Jr. had accepted a reprimand and apologized for detaining a public defender, Liyah Brown, after she refused to stop talking in his court.

The accounts of the incident suggest that both Bayly and Brown could have acted more professionally, though lawyers have rallied around Brown. The confrontation occurred in a case where Brown was trying to convince Bayly that her client was homeless. Bayly was concerned because the record showed various addresses and wanted to schedule a hearing. The Washington Post reported:

Bayly then tried to set a follow-up hearing as Brown kept speaking and trying to make her point. The judge ordered Brown to remain quiet and take her seat.

When Brown replied that she had to go to her next court hearing, Bayly insisted again that she sit down and warned that she was risking a citation for contempt of court. But Brown kept talking about why she needed to leave.

“Step her back, please. Step her back. Step the woman back, please. She won’t listen to what I’m saying. She’s disrupting the court,” Bayly said, according to the transcript. “Step her back. I’m sorry to have to do this, ma’am, but I don’t know what else to do.”

The D.C. Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure found that Bayly violated an ethics rule requiring judges to be patient, dignified and courteous.

The reprimand and apology are warranted. Brown should not have continued to argue with the court after the judge’s demand, but the judge clearly had too short of a fuse and too great a response to the infraction.

Save the date! July 17 and 18, 2008 Midwest Juvenile Defender Summit in Madison Wisconsin. See Summit Registration Information and Brochure.

The second bittersweet task of the day is to let you know that Dick Klausner, Chief Attorney for our Iowa City office, will retire on June 27th. Dick has been a longtime public defender, since before the establishment of the State Public Defender Service.

Dick was first assigned in the Linn County Public Defender Office, and continued there after that office was incorporated into the State Public Defender Service. Dick was then transferred to the Lead Worker position in the Iowa City Public Defender Office, when that office was under the supervision of the Cedar Rapids office. In 1996, Dick was promoted to supervisor when the Iowa City office became an independent office within SPD. Among Dick’s accomplishments was his oversight of the establishment of the Muscatine Public Defender Office, which was achieved in a very short time in response to an indigent defense crisis in Muscatine County. The Muscatine office remained under Dick’s supervision until it became an independent office in early 2004.

We will miss Dick’s hard work and leadership, and wish him a long and healthy retirement!

Tom