memorandum
to:tommy tompkins, auditor
from:Angela moore, Chief Appellate Public defender
deborah letz, regional appellate public defender
subject:regional plan Pilot Project-projected revenue and costs for fy08-09 (oct 2008-sept 2009).
date:August 7, 2008
The Bexar County/Fourth Court of Appeals regional pilot project began in May 2007, and has been in operation for 14 months. To date, 30 counties have participated in the regional project and 15 of those have appointed the APDO on cases. We have been appointed to 41 cause numbers and 32 individual appellants[1]. Our actual workload is slightly lower because some appellants later choose to hire counsel, or we cannot do the appeal for them.[2] Thus, we have been appointed to and have worked on, or are working on 35 appeals.[3] See “Statistical Breakdown” chart attached. So far, this office has filed 22 briefs and received 7 opinions from the Court of Appeals. New cases are added daily.
Many of the counties who have utilized our services previously have already agreed to have us handle their indigent appeals on the fee for service basis.[4] There are several counties who would like to use our services but have not yet received commissioner approval.[5] In addition, we have learned that at least five counties that did not previously appoint us still want to use the fee for service plan for their appellate needs.[6] We are in discussions within the BexarCounty family regarding the specifics of the interlocal agreements.
Given these numbers, we believe the regional project willgenerate fees that will allow the project to remain self-sustaining under our proposed fee for services schedule. Any program revenue generated by the regional project above the costs of the program will be income for BexarCounty. In the past 14 months, we received 31 felony appointments. We propose an hourly rate of $100 per felony/juvenile and $75 per misdemeanor.
The number of hours required depends on the length of the record and the complexity of the issues. Although it is impossible to predict with any accuracy how long an appeal might take, we estimate that the average felony will take 45 hours and the average misdemeanor will take 25 hours, totaling $4500 and $1875, respectively. Therefore, at an average of 45 hours per felony case at the rate of $100 per hour, the total fees generated would be $139,500. We also received 4 misdemeanors. At an average of 25 hours per misdemeanor case at the rate of $75 per hour, the total fees generated would be $7,500. Had the regional project been billing the counties for this work, the project would have generated approximately $147,000. The projected annual cost for the regional plan is approximately $142,000 for FY09. The income revenue is $5000 for BexarCounty.
Of course, this estimate can vary depending on the size of the record, complexity of the issues, whether counsel is granted oral argument, and whether counsel petitions for discretionary review to a higher court. We will not separately bill paralegal and support staff time or the cost of the materials; the hourly rate covers those costs. Eachindividual county bears the cost of the clerk’s record and reporter’s record.
While this cost may be higher than what some counties pay for appellate services, we can provide many intangible benefits to the counties. We are available to attorneys and judges in those counties for consultation and to answer questions about appeals at no extra cost. In the end, this saves time and money because an issue might be taken care of at the trial level or before the case reaches our office. Our collective appellate experience allows us to work efficiently, resulting in a highly professional work product while maintaining accountability.
BexarCounty will also receive intangible benefits from the regional plan. We cannot control the amount of appointments or when records come in, so we anticipate that there will be times when the regional attorney will be free to work on BexarCounty appeals. This work will not cost BexarCounty anything because we will not bill BexarCounty for that time.
Additionally, we provide a centralized resource for the appointing courts and the appellate court. Previously, trial courts have relied on a “wheel” or lottery system for finding appellate counsel. If a county utilizes our services, it merely has to appoint Angela J. Moore, the Chief Public Defender, and the case will be assigned to an attorney. Moreover, the Fourth Court of Appeals has expressed its approval of the centralized system. If a clerk has a question about an appeal, he need only call the main line and he will be routed to the attorney handling the case. It’s easier than tracking down 35 separate attorneys in any one of the 32 counties in the area.
Overall, we feel the project has garnered widespread support, and we are confident that itsfuture existence could only serve to continue to improve the quality of the representation accorded to indigent defendants.
STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
Appointing county / Number of causes appointed (total) / Number of causes appointed that BCAPDO kept* / Felonies (by cause numbers) / Misdemeanors (by cause numbers) / Individuals represented by BCAPDOAtascosa / 6 / 6 / 6 / 0 / 3
Bandera / 2 / 2 / 1 / 1 / 2
Guadalupe / 4 / 4 / 3 / 1 / 4
Jim Wells / 2 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 1
Karnes / 3 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 1
Kendall / 1 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 1
Kerr / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Kimble / 1 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 1
La Salle / 1 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 1
Maverick / 1 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 1
Starr / 3 / 3 / 3 / 0 / 2
Sutton / 1 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 1
Webb / 8 / 7 / 7 / 0 / 6
Wilson / 4 / 4 / 4 / 0 / 2
Zavala / 2 / 2 / 2 / 0 / 2
Totals / 41 / 35 / 31 / 4 / 28
* Six cause numbers/four individuals retained counsel, had no right to appeal, or was not a criminal appeal. These cases/individuals are not counted in the felonies, misdemeanors, or individuals represented totals.
FOURTH COURT OF APPEALS REGIONAL PLAN
Projected FY09 Budget
A. Salary:
Job Title / Calculation / Salary Being RequestedAppellate Public Defender / = 1.0 FTE x $55,500 x 1. years / $55,500
Paralegal / = 1.0 FTE x $28,980 x 1. years / $28,980
Salary Subtotal: / $84,390.
B. Fringe Benefits:
Line Item / Calculation / Fringe Benefit Being RequestedRetirement / = $84,390. x 9.9% / $8,354.
Social Security / = $84,390. x 6.2% / $5,232.
Medicare Tax / = $84,390. x 1.45% / $1,223.
Medical Insurance / = $500/month x 2 FTE x 12 months / $12,000.
Life Insurance / = $0.215 per $1000 Salary per Month (Rounded to Next Highest $1,000) / $1,650.
Unemployment Insurance / = $84,390. x 0.15% / $126.
Workers Compensation / = $350/year x 2 FTE x 1.Years / $700.
Fringe Subtotal: / $29,285.
C. Travel:
Line Item / Calculation / Travel Being RequestedMileage / = $.58X 2000. / $1160.
Parking / = $500. / $500.
CLE and travel to argument / Hotel, air, or mileage, tuition, meals / 4500.
Travel Subtotal: / $6,160.
D. Equipment: all taken care of in past start up costs.
E. Supplies:
Line Item / Calculation / Contractual Costs Being RequestedOffice Supplies (i.e. pens, copy paper; folders; etc.), postage, copier costs shared with APDO / = $750. per month / $9000.
Supplies Subtotal: / $9,000.
F. Contractual Costs:
Line Item / Calculation / Contractual Costs Being Requestedn/a Lexis Nexis / Unlimited use /contract per year / 1,068.
Contractual Costs Subtotal: / $1,068.
G. Construction:
Line Item / Calculation / Construction Costs Being Requestedn/a / n/a / $0
Construction Costs Subtotal: / $0
H. Other:
Line Item / Calculation / Contractual Costs Being RequestedTelecommunications Service / = ($50/month for phone service x 12 months) + ($60/month for videoconferencing service x 12 months) / $1,320.
Other Subtotal: / $1320.
I. Total Direct Charges (sum of A through H):
Rent for bldg. / Total Direct Charges Subtotal: / $11,000.J. Indirect Costs:
Line Item / Calculation / Indirect Costs Being Requestedn/a reference materials/books / n/a / $200.
Indirect Costs Subtotal: / $200.
K. TOTALS (sum of A through J):
TOTAL: / $141,378.1
[1] Some appellants have more than one cause number associated with their appeals.
[2] Various reasons would include: the case not being a criminal matter, no appellate jurisdiction, voluntary dismissal of appeal, and conflict of interest.
[3]Breakdown: 31 felony cause numbers and 4 misdemeanor cause numbers (28 individual clients).
[4] Atascosa, Guadalupe, Karnes, Kendall,La Salle, Sutton,Medina, Edwards, and Wilson.
[5] Kerr, Webb.
[6] Dimmit, Medina, Menard, Real, and Uvalde.