March 28, 2002

BEAUMONT - Jefferson County has made great strides in improving how it provides legal representation to the poor, but a review of its progress still shows some deficiencies, according to two public-interest law groups.

"Jefferson County courts, in particular the district courts, their plans do show a thoughtful effort to make substantial improvements to the indigent defense system," said Bill Beardall, executive director of the Austin-based Equal Justice Center. "The areas in which the plan falls a little bit short should be easily amended."

Beardall said the district and county courts failed to establish standards specifying at which point a defendant is considered indigent. He also said the court plans don't allow compensation for "reasonable and necessary" expenses for investigators and experts without prior approval from judges.

Criminal District Court Judge Charles Carver said the district court judges would review the county's indigent defense plan for possible changes at their next board meeting in April.

"Maybe we misunderstood what they wanted," Carver said.

The Equal Justice Center and Texas Appleseed examined the county's indigent defense plan as part of a statewide review to gauge the success of the Texas Fair Defense Act. The act, which the Legislature passed last year, requires the state's 254 counties to adopt written procedures for promptly and fairly appointing lawyers to represent the poor.

The procedures took effect Jan. 1.

Among the major changes in the Jefferson County's plan is that accused criminals have speedier access to an attorney, at least within 24 hours of their arrest.

Prior to the Texas Fair Defense Act, suspects who had been arrested and couldn't afford to hire lawyers weren't appointed legal counsel until an indictment was returned against them - a process that could take weeks or months. An indictment is a formal, written accusation of a crime against a person, presented by a grand jury to a court.

Carver said he was unaware the county's plan had to include guidelines for judges to determine a defendant's financial status. He also said district judges already pay for all reasonable expenses that investigators and experts incur.

But Carver was reluctant to agree to a policy that would require the county to always pay for investigators and experts.

"They're entitled to have the investigator. We're not denying that," Carver said. "We are just trying to monitor it to be sure that one, it's necessary and two, the amount that is being spent is reasonable."

Judge Larry Thorne, 317th District Court, said the county's plan dealing with juvenile defendants was amended Monday to include standards for determining a person's financial status.

For example, one of the standards is that the family qualify for food stamps, Medicaid, Supplemental Social Security, or public housing.

Beardall said The Equal Justice Center and Texas Appleseed report didn't review indigent defense policies for juvenile courts.

He also said the deficiencies found in Jefferson County's district and county court plans were common among other counties, as well.

He anticipates changes will be made when the Task Force on Indigent Defense develops policies and standards for counties that fail to meet the Texas Fair Defense Act.