| Senate passes bill setting indigent defense standards 04/10/2001 Associated Press AUSTIN – Court-appointed attorneys in Texas would have to be appointed within a week and meet minimum statewide standards under a bill approved today by the state Senate.
The Texas Fair Defense Act would also for the first time set aside up to $19 million to help counties pay for the legal representation of poor defendants.
The measure comes months after Texas' tough-on-crime reputation came under the national spotlight of President Bush's campaign.
Texas does not have a uniform system for representing indigent defendants. Court-appointed lawyers are chosen by a myriad of local rules. Critics of the system have called it a national embarrassment.
A private study of the indigent defense system last year found that some poor defendants wait months before they get a lawyer.
In 1999, Bush vetoed a bill that would have required attorneys be appointed within 20 days of arrest. County judges objected that it limited their appointment powers.
Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, sponsor of the bill approved by the Senate, said under the current system some poor defendants are appointed lawyers who are negligent.
"As much as I like to say the state doesn't make mistakes there's always the possibility. I'm convinced there's people in jail today who are there because their lawyers ought to be in jail," Ellis said.
Texas is one of only four states that contribute no state funding to indigent defense. Texas ranks 49th in the nation in per capita spending on indigent criminal defense, spending less than $5 per capita on counsel for the poor.
"The Texas Fair Defense Act is a significant step toward creating a criminal justice system that is both tough and fair," Ellis said.
AP-WS-04-10-01 1332EDT
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