Brown and Mills Counties

Indigent Defense Coordinator (IDC)/Pretrial Services Office

Brown County Courthouse

200 S. Broadway, Rm. 333

Brownwood, Texas 76801

Phone: 325-646-8833

Brown/Mills County IDC/Pretrial Services Office

Policies and Procedures

Adopted 1-14-2014

Departmental Overview

On November 1, 2013, the Judges of Brown and Mills Counties, Texas amended the previous existing plan and adopted revised procedures, rules and orders for the timely and fair appointment of counsel for indigent adult defendants county wide in both Brown and Mills Counties, Texas.

These guidelines were published and are available on the TIDC website. They provide for a systematic method of providing qualified counsel to indigent persons in criminal cases. The policy is also intended to provide procedures and guidance for some of the day-to-day responsibilities of the Indigent Defense Coordinator for Brown and Mills Counties (IDC). The Indigent Defense Coordinator will also serve as the Pretrial Services Director of the Personal Bond Office created by the judges of the courts within the 35th Judicial District, with the approval of the Commissioners’ Courts of Brown and Mills County. The newly created Pretrial Services Office was done pursuant to Article 17.42 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. The Indigent Defense Coordinator/Pretrial Services Director will be under the supervision of the local administrative District Judge. All organizational plans and policies of the IDC/Pretrial Services Office must adhere to the defined approval process of the 35th District Judge, Brown County Statutory County Judge, and the Constitutional County Judges of Brown and Mills County.

This office is a newly created position with two main areas of responsibility: (1) the coordination of indigent defense among all of the courts of Brown and Mills County, and (2) directing the pretrial services office of Brown and Mills County which will serve as a personal bond office created by the 35th Judicial District Court with the approval of the Commissioners’ Courts of Brown and Mills Counties.

Primarily the Indigent Defense Coordinator’s part of this job is designed to assist the Counties and the Judges in these two counties with compliance with the Texas Fair Defense Act and the counties policies. The employee in this position is responsible for preparing and maintaining a variety of records and files, conferring with court officials and answering inquiries from court officials and clients. The employee works closely with individuals requesting appointment of representation as well as the attorneys appointed to cases. This position accomplishes their work at the courthouse, in courtrooms, and at the juvenile and adult detention facilities. This position is under the supervision of the local Administrative District Judge.

The Pretrial Services Director part of this position is designed to help establish and direct the newly created office of the counties in the establishment of the personal bond office pursuant to Article 17.42 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. In this role, the employee will be responsible for assisting in the creation and once created, being responsible for the maintenance of the personal bond pretrial release office in accordance with the law of the State of Texas. The employee in this role will confer with the court officials and work closely with requesting individuals who have been arrested to determine whether or not they are entitled to release by a court on a personal bond in accordance with the law and the policies and procedures established by the counties and the judges for the administration of this personal bond office. This portion of the position as well will be under the supervision of the local Administrative District Judge.

Essential Job Functions of IDC

1.Advise the Commissioners’ Courts and court officials on compliance issues with the Texas Fair Defense Act and the Brown and Mills Counties Indigent Defense Plan

2.Manage a database for appointment of attorney’s to cases with indigent defendants

3.Assist with ensuring compliance with the Texas Fair Defense Act by monitoring compliance with policy by court appointed attorneys

4.Keep track of the number of people in jail with or without court appointed attorneys

5.Confer with court officials; answering inquiries from court officials, attorneys, inmates and the public

6.Maintain a variety of records, documents, calendars, etc., pertaining to the Texas Fair Defense Act

7.Summarize related data for the appropriate judge or Commissioners’ Court for the preparation of weekly and monthly reports

8.Review defendants applications for court appointed attorneys and determine indigence of defendant, forwarding the information to the appropriate judge

9.Maintain a variety of files; filing and retrieving the information as necessary (according to policy) or as requested

10.Work independently to handle calls and visitors; recording the information and relaying it to the appropriate court officials

11.Complete forms for correspondence, reports and spreadsheets.

12.May advise court officials on the appropriateness of policy

13.Perform administrative and secretarial work in support of Judges and county officials in the court system as well as the Commissioners’ Courts

14.Attend conferences, seminars and workshops to enhance and maintain knowledge of trends and developments in the area of the Fair Defense Act

15.Develop a policy and procedure manual by working with the judges to approve the manual and designate the Indigent Defense Coordinator as appointing authority with conditions

16.Develop a modified system with magistrates and jails that involves the Indigent Defense Coordinator

17.Examine improved methods to deal with individuals with mental illness who have been arrested

18.Meet with stake holders to discuss the Indigent Defense Plan and report any issues to judges with possible solutions

19.Maintain a count of the number of interviews with defendants and appointments of attorneys

20.Measure and report impact of the Indigent Defense Coordinator on compliance with time frames in the Fair Defense Act

21.Perform all requirements of the Indigent Defense Coordinator outlined in the Statement of Grant Award from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission for this position in the grant issued for fiscal year 2014 – Grant Number 212-14-D11

22.As Pretrial Services Director, under the direction of the Administrative District Judge, establish and maintain a personal bond office for Brown and Mills Counties in compliance with approved procedures and the provisions of Article 17.42 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure

23.As provided in Article 17.42, Brown/Mills County Pretrial Services shall operate a personal bond pretrial release office, and in accordance with the law, do the following:

  1. Prepare a record containing information as required about any accused person identified by case number only who, after review by the office, is released by a court on personal bond;
  2. Update the record on a monthly basis;
  3. Post a copy of the record in the office of the clerk of the county court in any county served by the office.

24.Must manage the graduated list of court appointed attorneys for judges and receive applications for advancements or adjustments as higher qualifications are met by attorneys

25.Must review invoices submitted by attorneys and compare to appointment schedule prior to judicial approval

26.Develop procedures to track attorney contact with client, which includes tracking, investigating and reporting allegations of attorneys not meeting their clients within statutory or plan requirements

Departmental Goals

1.To improve indigent defense processes by reviewing and documenting current processes and

identify solutions to processes that do not conform to state law or cost effective practices.

2.To promote effective practices with purchase or development of software and equipment.

3.To promote effective attorney representation and practice by tracking case assignments, identifying contact, identifying qualification and training, and prompt payment.

4.To streamline indigent defense information among all stakeholders.

5.To centralize the appointment process to promote dedicated accountability with the Indigent Defense Coordinator.

6.To assist judicial officers in making initial bail release recommendation or in reviewing and amending the conditions of release on bail at subsequent hearings.

7.To provide case supervision of defendants placed in the custody of this department and assure compliance with the conditions of release imposed by a judicial officer.

8.To insure equal access to justice

IDC /Pretrial Services Regular Jail Visits

If the magistrate is not authorized to appoint counsel and if the accused requests appointment of counsel, IDC/Pretrial Services shall provide a financial questionnaire to any accused requesting appointment of counsel. IDC/Pretrial Services shall provide assistance and guidance to the accused in accurately completing the form(s). If at all possible, IDC/Pretrial Services shall be present for magistration proceedings. If it is not possible for IDC/Pretrial Services to be present at the magistration proceeding, then IDC/Pretrial Services shall make daily visits to the Brown County Jail on every weekday to assist, prior to the magistration, accused individuals who are in custody to complete a financial questionnaire and to assist defendants in determining if they qualify for a personal bond under the criteria established by the judges for the pretrial release office. IDC/Pretrial Services shall make daily contact with the Mills County Jail (and with the Comanche County Jail if there are any Mills County inmates being housed there) each weekday to determine if there are any individuals in custody who are requesting appointment of counsel or may be suitable candidates for release under a personal bond. IDC/Pretrial Services shall then assist such individuals in the completion of their financial questionnaire. The magistrate shall transmit or cause to be transmitted the magistrate form and any other forms requesting appointment of counsel to IDC/Pretrial Services. The forms requesting appointment of counsel shall be transmitted without unnecessary delay, but not later than 24 hours after the person arrested requests appointment of counsel.

IDC/Pretrial Services Determination of Indigency

IDC/Pretrial Services shall make a determination of indigency in accordance with the approved guidelines. IDC/Pretrial Services shall be diligent in the interview process to ensure that information provided by the applicant seems probable and accurate. IDC/Pretrial Services shall have access to certain public records to verify information furnished by applicants in the financial questionnaire. If IDC/Pretrial Services is unable to determine indigency, then IDC/Pretrial Services shall promptly contact the judge of the court which will be trying the case for a final determination of the indigency status.

Prompt Appointment of Counsel

Prompt Appointment of Counsel

  1. Counsel shall be appointed as soon as possible to indigent defendants, but no later than the end of the third working day after the date on which the appointing authority receives the defendant’s request for court appointed counsel. Working day means Monday through Friday, excluding official state holidays. Counsel must be appointed whether or not a case has been filed in the trial court.
  1. If the defendant is released from custody prior to the appointment of counsel, appointment of counsel is not required until the defendant’s first court appearance or when adversarial judicial proceedings are initiated, whichever comes first.
  1. Appointment Authority
  1. If no case has been filed in the trial court, the appointing authority for misdemeanors is: IDC/Pretrial Services based upon the attorney assignment system adopted by the county, subject to the approval in Brown County of the presiding judge of the Brown CountyCourt at Law, or the presiding judge of the Brown County Court, in the appropriate case. In Mills County, Texas, it is IDC/Pretrial Services based upon the attorney assignment system adopted by the county, subject to the approval of the presiding judge of the Mills County Court.
  2. If no case has been filed in the trial court, the appointing authority for felonies is: IDC/Pretrial Services based upon the attorney assignment system adopted by the county, subject to the approval of the presiding judge of the 35th Judicial District Court of the State of Texas.
  3. If the case has been filed in the trial court, the appointing authority is: IDC/Pretrial Services based upon the attorney assignment system adopted by the county, subject to the approval of the presiding judge in the court in which it is filed.

Attorney Compliance

IDC/Pretrial Services shall monitor compliance with the provisions of this plan concerning an attorney’s obligation to provide competent representation. An attorney’s failure to comply with the provisions of the plan concerning making initial contact with defendants and personally interviewing defendants shall be documented by the IDC/Pretrial Services and may result in removal of an attorney from representation of an indigent defendant in a particular case and/or removal of an attorney from the list of eligible court appointed counsel for a period of time or permanently. In the event that an attorney fails to comply with the provisions of the plan concerning competent representation, the IDC/Pretrial Services shall notify the attorney by e-mail or fax and shall request prompt compliance with the provisions concerning such representation. The IDC/Pretrial Services shall prepare monthly reports at the direction of the district and county court judges hearing criminal cases to monitor compliance with the provisions of the plan.

State Reporting and Mandatory Reporting

Brown and Mills Counties shall submit the Indigent Defense Expenditure Report each year by November 1. Information provided from the attorney fee voucher shall be used for proper reporting.

Each attorney fee voucher shall indicate the number of cases disposed of under each payment for a specific defendant. Capital murder cases and expenses may be claimed prior to case disposal.

All reports must be submitted electronically at The report must include all expenses for attorney fees, licensed investigators, expert witnesses, and other direct litigation costs that the county incurred during the period beginning October 1 through September 30 of the fiscal year. Administrative expenses may be claimed if they are directly related to indigent defense processes or procedures.

Internal Office Policies and Procedures Directed to Staff

IDC as Chief Operating Officer

IDC in under the immediate supervision of the Administrative District Judge. Board of Judgesfor Brown and Mills Counties will set policy as described previously, but IDC is responsible for implementing the policy. At all times, the chain of command must be followed. If you fail to follow these procedures, a violation of policy will be implemented and could lead to disciplinary action up to termination for insubordination.

Employee Responsibilities

  1. As an employee of the Brown/Mills County Indigent Defense Services Department, we must adhere to high standards of professionalism, courtesy and avoid the appearance of illegal or unethical conduct. You are expected to conduct yourself in a professional manner and address the work at hand. No vulgar language or offensive comments will be tolerated. Staff is expected to carry out efficiently as possible work items assigned, to maintain good professional relationships with the public, with other governmental employees, with their supervisor and with fellow employees. It is important that each staff member make the best possible impression at all times by setting high standards of conduct in or out of the office.
  2. Staff is to be punctual in maintaining work hours, keeping appointments and meetings scheduled for completion of work duties. Regular attendance is important to the overall operation of the department. If for any reason an employee is unable to report to work he/she must notify his/her supervisor or department head immediately prior to start the workday and the supervisor must make any adjustments to cover the employees work duties for that particular day.
  3. Telephone Etiquette:
  4. Answer the telephone in a courteous manner
  5. Always be polite and helpful
  6. Do not raise your voice, regardless of the situation.
  7. The telephone should not be ringing for a long period of time. Any employee next to a ringing telephone should answer promptly and help the caller.

Work Area

1.Respect the personal workspace of each employee. Do not remove or add anything from a workspace that is not assigned to you. Keep voices/laughter volume to a low levelsince we presently have limited space in our department and high volumes can be disruptive and disturbing to employees. Do not leave the office without informing the last employee in the office.

2.No vulgar language or offensive comments from employees will be tolerated.

3.Do not keep any obscene pictures, posters and any related material in your desk area.

4.Keep your desk area clean from any food items when not in use.

Personal Appearance/Dress