PEER REVIEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE

                                                                             

            The Law Office of the Hamilton County Public Defender, hereafter referred to as (Law Office), does hereby establish a Peer Review Advisory Committee, hereafter referred to as (PRAC). The PRAC shall act as an advisory committee to the Law Office regarding the composition and categorization of attorneys for the Assigned Counsel Panel and the Contract Attorney Panel of attorneys chosen by the Law Office to represent indigent defendants and on any other matters brought to it by the Law Office. The panels are meant to be inclusive and broad based to provide effective representation to our clients. 

            A. Committee Composition

            The PRAC shall consist of five members; (1) two appointees from the Public Defender Commission; (2) two appointees from the Cincinnati Bar Association with the approval of the Public Defender Commission; and (3) the head of the Felony Division of the Public Defender’s Office, who shall be a permanent member. Two committee members shall be appointed to serve a term of three years and two committee members shall be appointed to shall serve a term of two years. Committee members may succeed themselves for two consecutive terms only, with no one member serving more than a maximum of six years on the PRAC except for the head of the Felony Division , who shall remain a permanent member of the committee.

 

            B. Meetings

            The PRAC shall hold meetings at least twice a year or as necessary for the purpose of categorizing or re-categorizing attorneys for inclusion or exclusion to the Assigned Counsel Panel or Contract Attorney Panel and any other matters submitted to it by the Law Office.

 

            C. New registrations to Private Attorney Panel or Contract Panel

            The PRAC shall review all new registrations for the Assigned Counsel Panel or Contract Attorney Panel. Attorneys deemed to lack sufficient prior experience shall be required to participate in (1) in-house training so determined by the committee as needed, and/or (2) participate in any mentoring  determined by the PRAC Committee prior to participation on the panel. The Public Defender, may in his sole discretion conditionally add a new registrant with experience to the Assigned Counsel Panel or Contract Attorney Panel; however, any new registrant with no criminal experience will be required to spend at least 30 days in a probationary status while working with a mentor assigned by the Law Office prior to conditionally being added to either panel. Registrant’s qualifications for permanent inclusion on the panel shall be submitted to the PRAC Committee, for review, at its next meeting.

 

            D. Re-categorization

            Attorneys seeking re-categorization must complete and submit a re-categorization form. The requests for re-categorization shall be reviewed by the PRAC at its next meeting. Their recommendations shall be submitted to the Law Office for approval. The Public Defender, may in his sole discretion, conditionally re-categorize a registrant. Any registrant, so conditionally qualified, must be submitted to the PRAC Committee, for review, at its next meeting for permanent re-categorization. Those attorneys deemed to lack sufficient prior experience for re-categorization will be required to participate in (1) in-house training so determined as needed, (2) and/or participate in any mentoring determined by the PRAC Committee prior to subsequent evaluation of re-categorization.

 

            E. Other Matters of Interest

             Any question relating to the qualifications and/or complaints about any attorney, working on behalf of the Law Office, either as an Assigned Counsel Panel member, a Contract Attorney, or a Staff member should be submitted in writing to the PRAC for review. The writing shall include (1)the case name(s); (2) case number(s); (3) the prosecutor(s); (4)the trial judge(s) and/or particularized information relating to the qualifications and/or complaint. If the PRAC believes that the matter warrants further consideration. The recommendation may consist of (1) a simple written warning, (2) corrective action, such as in-house training and/or mentoring, or (3) removal from the panel. All such matters shall remain completely confidential.

 

            F. Mentoring

            There shall be established a list of attorneys, with at least five years experience, that are willing to accept the role of mentor. These attorneys must be willing to accept mentees as assigned by the Law Office, while said mentee completes his/her 30 day probationary period. At the conclusion of the probationary period the mentor shall submit to the Law Office an evaluation of the mentee’s performance. Based upon the mentor’s evaluation the Law Office may conditionally add the mentee to either the Assigned Counsel Panel or Contract Attorney Panel. Said mentee’s qualifications for permanent inclusion on either panel shall be submitted to the PRAC Committee, for review, at its next meeting.

 

 

ASSIGNED COUNSEL PANEL AND/OR CONTRACT ATTORNEY PANEL

 

A. Panel Composition

            The Law Office shall maintain an Assigned Counsel Panel of attorneys who are eligible and willing to accept felony, juvenile, misdemeanor, or appellate appointments. Interested attorneys shall submit annually to the Law Office a registration form. The Law Office will also maintain a list of attorneys, who are willing to contract with the office regarding the representation of indigents in Municipal court.  There are three separate types of contractual attoneys: 1) On-Call, which is the group willing to accept appointments when called; 2) Scheduled Arraignment, who are the attorneys scheduled to appear in Room A for misdemeanors; and Attorney Interviewer, who are those attorneys scheduled to interview clients.  The Law Office will categorize each attorney based upon experience and qualifications as one or more of the following: (A) Aggravated Murder with Death Penalty Specification eligible; (B) Homicide eligible; (C) Felony 1st- 3rd eligible; (D) Felony 4th-5th eligible, (E) Misdemeanor eligible; (F) Delinquency eligible; (G) Dependency eligible; (H) Guardian Ad Litem eligible; and (I) Appellate eligible. After categorization the list shall be submitted to Peer Review Advisory Committee (PRAC) for their recommendations. The recommendations shall then be submitted to the Law Office for approval. The Public Defender, may in his sole discretion conditionally add a new registrant to the panel pursuant to the procedures as outlined in section C of the Peer Review Advisory Committee.

Pursuant to Section D of the Peer Review Advisory Committee, an attorney may only be re-categorized upon submission of a re-categorization form showing additional experience including case names and numbers, prosecutors, and trial judges. The Public Defender, may in his sole discretion conditionally re-categorize a registrant to any panel. Said registrant’s qualifications for permanent inclusion on the panel shall be submitted to the PRAC Committee, for review, at its next meeting.

 

B. Eligibility

            All attorneys must be (1) licensed; (2) admitted to the practice of law in the State of Ohio; and (3) maintain malpractice insurance of at least $100,000.00 per occurrence and $300,000.00 aggregate. All newly admitted attorneys must go through a 30 day probationary period. All attorneys will serve at the pleasure of the Law Office. It shall be the responsibility of each attorney to notify the Law Office of any change of an attorney’s status, including address, phone number, fax number, cell number, or e-mail address.

 

C. Equal Opportunity

            All qualified attorneys shall be eligible for selection to the panel without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin or disabling condition.

 

D. Application to Panel

 

            Applications for membership or re-categorization may be obtained from the Law Office or on-line at the web-site www.hamiltoncountyohio.gov/pub_def). Applications will be reviewed in accordance with the terms set forth above.

 

 

QUALIFICATIONS AND REGULATIONS AND GUIDELINES:

 

Qualifications, regulations, and guidelines for the counsel who are appointed to represent indigent persons in criminal cases under Section 120.6(E) of the Ohio Revised Code shall be as follows:

 

I.                 Qualifications:     All counsel shall meet the following minimum qualifications before appointed to represent an indigent person in a criminal case:

 

(1)  Where the defendant is charged with aggravated murder with death penalty specifications, or has been convicted and sentenced to death, any attorney appointed for trial or appellate representation must meet the qualifications set forth in Rule 20 of the Ohio Supreme Court’s “Rules of Superintendence” and appear on the list of attorneys qualified to accept appointments promulgated by the Rule 20 Committee or have a waiver issued by the Rule 20 Committee.

(2)  Where the defendant is charged with murder or aggravated murder without specifications, appointed counsel shall possess:

(a)   Prior experience as trial counsel or co-counsel in one murder case, or

(b)  Prior experience as trial counsel in two first degree felony or aggravated felony trials, or

(c)   Prior experience as trial counsel in ten or more jury trials.

(3)  Where the defendant is charged with felony of the first, second, or third degree, appointed counsel shall possess:

(a)Prior experience as trial counsel in two or more first, second, or third degree felony trials, at least one of which was a jury trial, or

(b)Prior experience as trial attorney in any four jury trials at least one of which was a jury trial in a first, second, or third degree felony, or

(c)Prior experience as trial counsel in any two criminal trials;

     (i) Co-counsel in at least one criminal jury trial

     (ii) Trial counsel or co-counsel in two jury trials.

(4)Where the defendant is charged with a felony of the fourth or fifth degree,

appointed counsel shall possess:

(a)Prior experience as trial counsel or co-counsel in at least once jury trial, or

(b)Prior completion of trial training program on criminal practice or procedure which is certified for continuing education by the Ohio Supreme Court Commission on Continuing Education.

      (5)Assignments should be distributed as widely as possible among members of the bar who meet the qualifications for appointments.

 

II.               Regulations:       All counsel shall:

 

(1) Comply with all qualifications, regulations, and standards of the State of Ohio, Ohio Supreme Court, Ohio Public Defenders Commission, and the Hamilton County Public Defenders Commission;

(2) Maintain active practice registration with the Ohio Supreme Court;

(3) Maintain active status of private practice of law;

(4) Maintain private law office not connected with any other business;

(5) Secure and maintain professional liability insurance and furnish the Hamilton County Public Defenders Commission with satisfactory proof of same;

(6) Maintain professional status that is not in conflict with Section 120.39(A) of the Ohio Revised Code;

(7) Immediately advise the Hamilton County Public Defenders Commission       of any change in status that would result in conflict with these regulations.

 

III         Guidelines:     All counsel shall:

 

                  (1) Please make every effort to be on time. Counsel are strongly encouraged to arrive in Room A for Panel Assignments prior to 8:00 AM so as to give the Room A Supervising Attorney the opportunity to both assign the cases and to ensure that the client is interviewed. If you know in advance that you will be unavailable on a particular day date, call the Supervising Attorney scheduled to be in Room A on your day and advise him of your status.

                  (2) Be responsible for verifying the income information and for obtaining the client’s signature on the Financial Disclosure and Affidavit of Indigency Form that is provided to counsel upon appointment. Submit all vouchers with a fully executed “Affidavit of Indigency” or a “Certification” indicating that such an affidavit is on file within 30 days of the case termination. This office is required to certify the indigency status of each client to the State    Public Defender. Due to the loss of State reimbursement, vouchers submitted beyond the 30 days will be reduced 50%.

                 (3)  Be responsible for filling-in the top portion of the clients interview sheet with your name and telephone number and complete those items relating to the next action in the case (i.e., Grand Jury report date). In the absence of this information our ability to track the case is very limited. Further, it is important to reflect the bond set to allow us to maintain the file current and up-to-date. Lastly, you must turn in the white copy of the interview sheet to the Public Defender staff in Room A before you leave.

 

STANDARDS:

 

(1)  Personally interviews clients without delay and confer as often as necessary to elicit matters pertinent to their defense;

(2)  Appear on the behalf of each client at the Report of the Grand Jury and at each schedule court appearance after Common Pleas Arraignment prepared to represent each client’s interests;

(3)  Be responsible for all matters of representation, whether pre-trial, trial, or post-conviction, in Hamilton County Municipal and Common Pleas Courts, and for the appeals taken to the First District Court of Appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court, unless permitted to withdraw as attorney of record by the appropriate court;

(4)  Withdraw as counsel only for good cause shown by written motion and upon entry by the Court, immediately notify the Office of Hamilton County Public Defender as to same, and confer with succeeding counsel regarding the clients defense;

(5)  Do not solicit or accept compensation from any source other than as provided by the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners’ fee schedule, nor accept private employment as retained counsel in any proceeding in which your were originally appointed as attorney of record.

(6)  In all cases:

(a)   Promptly advise clients of their rights and take all necessary actions to preserve them;

(b)  Diligently and actively participate in the full and effective preparation of each client’s case;

(c)   Carefully investigate all defenses of fact and of law that may be available to your client, and be prepared to file all motions, such as suppression of evidence, psychiatric evaluation, expert witness, deposition or other motion appropriate to your client’s case;

(d)  Be concerned with your client’s right to reasonable bail pending case resolution.

(e)   Immediately notify the office of the Hamilton County Public Defenders of any case in which the seriousness of the alleged offense requires the appointment of counsel having the experience required pursuant to the qualifications set fourth by the Ohio Supreme Court, the Ohio Public Defender or the Hamilton County Public Defender.

(f)    Utilize the resources available to counsel at the Office of the Hamilton County, including investigative services, resource center, and mentoring by supervising attorneys or by experienced panel attorneys. Contact the supervising attorneys responsible for your Room A day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 2007