07 LC 36
0439
Senate
Bill 141
By:
Senators Smith of the 52nd, Wiles of the 37th and Johnson of the 1st
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 1 of Chapter 12 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council, so as to
change the composition of the council; to provide for appointment,
qualifications, and terms for new members; to provide for related matters; to
provide for effective dates; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
1 of Chapter 12 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council, is amended by revising Code
Section 17-12-3, relating to creation and membership of the Georgia Public
Defender Standards Council, as follows:
"17-12-3.
(a)
There is created the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council to be composed of
11
15
members.
(b)
Ten members of the council shall be appointed as follows:
(1)
Two members shall be appointed by the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
of Georgia, and the Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals as further set
forth in paragraph (2) of this subsection.
Except as
provided in paragraph (3.1), the
The
members of the council shall be individuals with significant experience working
in the criminal justice system or who have demonstrated a strong commitment to
the provision of adequate and effective representation of indigent defendants.
The members shall serve terms of four years; provided, however, that the
members appointed from the even-numbered judicial administration circuits shall
serve initial terms of six years and thereafter shall serve terms of four
years;
(2)
The members appointed pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be
chosen so that each of the ten judicial administration districts in the state is
represented and so that each appointing authority shall rotate the particular
judicial administration district for which he or she is responsible for
appointing. The appointments shall be as follows:
(A)
For the initial appointments:
(i)
The Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial administration
district 1 and one person who resides in judicial administration district
2;
(ii)
The Lieutenant Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial
administration district 3 and one person who resides in judicial administration
district 4;
(iii)
The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint one person who resides
in judicial administration district 5 and one person who resides in judicial
administration district 6;
(iv)
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 7 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 8; and
(v)
The Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 9 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 10;
(B)
For the first subsequent council appointments:
(i)
The Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial administration
district 3 and one person who resides in judicial administration district
4;
(ii)
The Lieutenant Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial
administration district 5 and one person who resides in judicial administration
district 6;
(iii)
The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint one person who resides
in judicial administration district 7 and one person who resides in judicial
administration district 8;
(iv)
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 9 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 10; and
(v)
The Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 1 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 2;
(C)
For the second subsequent council appointments:
(i)
The Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial administration
district 5 and one person who resides in judicial administration district
6;
(ii)
The Lieutenant Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial
administration district 7 and one person who resides in judicial administration
district 8;
(iii)
The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint one person who resides
in judicial administration district 9 and one person who resides in judicial
administration district 10;
(iv)
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 1 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 2; and
(v)
The Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 3 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 4;
(D)
For the third subsequent council appointments:
(i)
The Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial administration
district 7 and one person who resides in judicial administration district
8;
(ii)
The Lieutenant Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial
administration district 9 and one person who resides in judicial administration
district 10;
(iii)
The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint one person who resides
in judicial administration district 1 and one person who resides in judicial
administration district 2;
(iv)
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 3 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 4; and
(v)
The Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 5 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 6; and
(E)
For the fourth subsequent council appointments:
(i)
The Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial administration
district 9 and one person who resides in judicial administration district
10;
(ii)
The Lieutenant Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial
administration district 1 and one person who resides in judicial administration
district 2;
(iii)
The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint one person who resides
in judicial administration district 3 and one person who resides in judicial
administration district 4;
(iv)
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 5 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 6; and
(v)
The Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 7 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 8.
All
subsequent appointments shall continue on, with the entire cycle starting over
again as specified in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph;
(3)
The
In
addition, the eleventh member shall be one
circuit public defender who shall serve on the council. After the initial
appointments as set forth in paragraph (4) of this subsection, the circuit
public defender to serve on the council shall be elected by a majority vote of
all the circuit public defenders. The circuit public defender councilmember
shall serve terms of two years;
(3.1)
Four members of the council shall be county commissioners who have been elected
and are serving as members of the governing authority of a county of this state.
The county commissioner councilmembers shall be appointed by the Governor on or
before July 1, 2007, and shall be reflective of the diversity of this state.
The Governor may solicit recommendations for such appointees from the
Association County Commissioners of Georgia. Each county commissioner
councilmember shall serve terms of four years; provided, however, that the
initial appointments shall be for one, two, three, and four years, respectively,
as designated by the Governor for each appointment, and thereafter such members
shall serve terms of four years.
(4)
Except as
provided in paragraph (3.1) of this subsection,
all
All
initial appointments shall be made to become members of the council on July 1,
2003, and their successors shall become members of the council on July 1
following their appointment. The initial appointees from the even-numbered
judicial administration circuits shall serve until June 30, 2009.
Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (3) of this subsection, the initial
member representing the circuit public defenders shall be made by the Supreme
Court of Georgia. The person representing the circuit defender position on the
initial council shall be engaged on a full-time basis in the provision of
criminal defense to the indigent;
(5)
Any vacancy for a member appointed pursuant to paragraphs
(1),
and
(2), and
(3.1) of this subsection shall be filled
by the appointing authority, and such appointee shall serve the balance of the
vacating member´s unexpired term; and
(6)
Any vacancy for a member appointed pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection
shall be the successor to the circuit public defender as set forth in subsection
(d) of Code Section 17-12-20.
(c)
In making
these
the
appointments
for ten
members of the council as provided in paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of this
Code section, the appointing authorities
shall seek to identify and appoint persons who represent a diversity of
backgrounds and experience and shall solicit suggestions from the State Bar of
Georgia, state and local bar associations, the Georgia Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers, the councils representing the various categories of state court
judges in Georgia, and the Prosecuting Attorneys´ Council of the State of
Georgia, as well as from the public and other interested organizations and
individuals within the state. The appointing authorities shall not appoint a
prosecuting attorney as defined in paragraph (6) of Code Section 19-13-51, any
employee of a prosecuting attorney´s office, or an employee of the
Prosecuting Attorneys´ Council of the State of Georgia to serve on the
council.
(d)
This Code section shall become effective on July 1, 2003, for purposes of making
the initial appointments to the council."
SECTION
2.
This
Act shall become effective on July 1, 2007; provided, however, that for purposes
of the appointment of the councilmembers, this Act shall become effective upon
approval of this Act by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such
approval.
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.