§ 2-46. PUBLIC DEFENDER.
2-46.1 Established. The Municipal Office of Public Defender in the Borough of Sayreville is hereby established.
(Ord. #528-98)
2-46.2 Appointment; Term.
a.
There shall be at least one Municipal Public Defender, who shall be appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the Council. Each appointment shall be for a term of one (1) year, which shall commence as of the first day of January of the year of appointment and shall continue until December Thirty-first of such year or until such later date as on which a successor is appointed and qualified.
b.
In such event as the governing body should by resolution determine a need for the appointment of more than one (1) public defender, then the governing body may act to appoint additional Municipal Public Defenders in the same manner and to serve for concurrent one (1) year terms. If an additional Municipal Public Defender is appointed, then the governing body shall designate one of the Municipal Public Defenders to be the "Chief Municipal Public Defender". The Chief Municipal Public Defender shall have authority over other municipal public defenders serving that court with respect to the performance of their duties.
(Ord. #528-98)
2-46.3 Qualifications. Each municipal public defender shall be an attorney-at-law of this State in good standing and shall have not less than a minimum of three (3) years experience as a practicing attorney having experience in the representation of private and/or governmental clients before the Superior and/or municipal courts within the State of New Jersey with respect to matters involving the prosecution and/or defense of charges of violations of criminal and/or motor vehicles statutes and/or municipal police ordinances.
(Ord. #528-98)
2-46.4 Duties. It shall be the duty of the Office of the Municipal Public Defender to represent, except in the case of temporary unavailability or conflict of interest, any defendant charged with an offense in municipal court who is an indigent municipal defendant entitled to representation pursuant to P.L. 1997, c. 256. All necessary services and facilities of representation pursuant to this act, including both expert and lay investigation and testimony, as well as other preparations, shall be provided in every case. The Borough shall be responsible for payment of services pursuant to this section. The factors of need and real value to a defendant may be weighed against the financial constraints of the municipality in determining the necessary services and facilities of representation. The final determination as to necessity for services required shall be made by the municipal court.
The Office of Municipal Public Defender shall be responsible for handling all phases of the defense, including but not limited to discovery, pretrial and post-trial hearings, motions, removals to federal district court and other collateral functions reasonably related to the defense. As provided by P.L. 1997, c. 256, the Borough shall not be required to pay for the expert and lay investigation or testimony until March 22, 1999.
The Office of Municipal Public Defender shall represent an indigent defendant charged in municipal court with a crime as specified in N.J.S.2B:12-18 or, if in the opinion of the municipal court, there is likelihood that the defendant, if convicted of any other offense will be subject to imprisonment or other consequence of magnitude, the office of municipal public defender shall represent an indigent defendant.
(Ord. #528-98)
2-46.5 Vacancies; Conflicts. If there is a vacancy in the office of municipal public defender, or if the municipal public defender is temporarily unavailable, or if a finding of conflict of interest precludes the municipal public defender from representing an indigent defendant, the municipal prosecutor may prosecute the offense if the municipal court appoints a qualified attorney to represent the indigent defendant. An appointed attorney shall be entitled to compensation which shall be in accordance with such rates as are established herein following with payment to be made within thirty (30) days. Once appointed, the attorney shall carry out all duties of the municipal public defender in connection with the case that is the subject of the appointment.
(Ord. #528-98)
2-46.6 Determination of Eligibility. Eligibility for services of the municipal public defender shall be determined by the municipal Court on the basis of the need of the defendant, except as otherwise provided hereinafter relative to any defendants who are under the age of eighteen (18) years. Need shall be measured according to Section 14 of P.L. 1967, c.43 (C2A:158A-14) and guidelines promulgated by the New Jersey Supreme Court.
In the event that a determination of eligibility cannot he made before the time when the first services are to be rendered, or if an initial determination is found to be erroneous, the municipal court shall refer the defendant to the municipal public defender provisionally, and if subsequently it is determined that the defendant is ineligible the municipal court shall inform the defendant, and the defendant shall be obliged to engage his own counsel and to reimburse the municipal court for the cost of services rendered to that time.
The municipal court shall make an investigation of the financial status of each defendant seeking representation pursuant to P.L. 1997, c. 256, and shall have the authority to require a defendant to execute and deliver written requests or authorizations required under applicable law to provide the court with access to records of public or private sources, otherwise confidential, as may be of aid in evaluating eligibility. The Court is authorized to obtain information from any public record office of the State or of any subdivision or agency thereof on request and without payment of the fees ordinarily required by law.
Whenever a person entitled to representation by a municipal public defender pursuant to this act, is under the age of eighteen (18) years, the eligibility for services shall be determined on the basis of financial circumstances of the individual and the financial circumstances of the individual's parents or legal guardians, The municipality shall be entitled to recover the cost of legal services from the parent or legal guardian as provided in Section 16 of P.L. 1997, c. 256, and the municipal court shall have authority to require parents or legal guardians to execute and deliver the written requests or authorization required under applicable law in order to provide the court with access to records of public or private sources, otherwise confidential, as may be of aid to it in evaluating eligibility.
If the defendant has or reasonably expects to have means to meet some part, though not all, of the cost of the services rendered, the defendant shall be required to reimburse the municipality, either by a single payment or in installments in such amounts as he can reasonably be expected to pay; but no default or failure in making payment shall affect or reduce the rendering of services.
(Ord. #528-98)
2-46.7 Payment Lien. A municipality shall have a lien on any property to which the defendant shall have or acquire an interest for an amount equal to the reasonable value of the services rendered to a defendant pursuant to this act as calculated at the same rate as the Office of the Public Defender bills clients at that time.
To effectuate such a lien for the municipality, the municipal attorney shall file a notice setting other services rendered to the defendant and the reasonable value thereof with the Clerk of the Superior Court. The filing of the notice with the Clerk of the Superior Court shall constitute a lien on property for a period of ten (10) years from the date of filing, unless discharged sooner, and except for such time limitations, shall have the force and effect of a judgment. Within ten (10) days of the filing of the notice, the municipal attorney shall send by certified mail, or serve personally, a copy of the notice with a statement of the date of the filing to or upon the defendant at the defendant's last known address. If the municipal attorney shall fail to give notice, the lien is void.
(Ord. #528-98)
2-46.8 Application Fee for Representation by Municipal Public Defender.
a.
Persons applying to the Sayreville Municipal Court for representation by a municipal public defender or court approved counsel shall be required to pay an application fee of not more than two hundred ($200.00) dollars, but only in an amount necessary to pay the costs of the municipal public defender services.
b.
In accordance with guidelines promulgated by the Supreme Court, the municipal court may waive any required application fee, in whole or in part, only if the court determines, in its direction, upon a clear and convincing showing by the applicant that the application fee represents an unreasonable burden on the person seeking representation. The municipal court may permit a person to pay the application fee over a specific period of time not to exceed four months.
(Ord. #528-98)
2-46.9 Funds Deposited in Dedicated Fund. Funds collected pursuant to Subsection 2-46.8, shall be deposited in a dedicated fund administered by the chief financial officer of the municipality or in the case of a joint municipal court in a manner agreed to by the constituent municipalities. Such funds shall be used exclusively to meet the costs incurred in providing the services of a municipal public defender including, when required. expert and lay investigation and testimony.
(Ord. #528-98)
2-46.10 Fund Monitoring and Reporting. The Municipal Court and the Borough's Chief Financial Officer shall maintain and administer the dedicated fund as required by law, and shall prepare such reports as requested by the governing body regarding the number of applications for assigned counsel received; number approved; number assigned to the Office of the Municipal Public Defender; number assigned to appointed counsel; number of cases disposed; number pending; total fees assessed; total fees collected; total fees receivable; principal dollar amount of liens forwarded for processing; total salary expenses; total fees to appointed counsel; total payments for expert and lay investigation and testimony, and all other services provided and expenses incurred in relationship to such services as are provided by the Borough in behalf of indigent defendants. Such reports shall include a statement as to whether the amount of money in the municipal court's dedicated fund exceeds by more than twenty-five (25%) percent the amount which was expended by the municipality during the prior year to provide the services of a municipal public defender.
(Ord. No. 94-09, § 1, 5-26-2009)
Editor's note— Ord. No. 94-09, § 1, adopted May 26, 2009, repealed the former § 2-46.10, and enacted a new § 2-46.10 as set out herein. The former § 2-46.10 pertained to similar subject matter and derived from Ord. No. 528-98.
2-46.11. Rates for Court Appointed Counsel. In such event as no municipal public defender is available or able to represent an indigent defendant (as is defined by P.L. 1997, c. 256) and the municipal court appoints an attorney to provide such representation, then such court appointed attorney shall be entitled to be compensated based upon the following rates:
a.
Fifty ($50.00) dollars per hour for services rendered outside actual court appearances, not to exceed five (5) hours without express written authorization of the court
b.
Seventy-five ($75.00) dollars per hour for actual court appearances, not to exceed one hundred fifty ($150.00) dollars per court appearance, without express written authorization of the court.
(Ord. #528-98)