There shall be a Department of Assigned Counsel under the direction
of a Supervising Attorney who shall be appointed by the County Administrator
with a recommendation of the Advisory Board on Indigent Representation
and confirmation of the Tompkins County Legislature. At the time of
appointment and throughout the term of office, the Supervising Attorney
shall be and remain duly licensed and entitled to practice law in
the State of New York. The Supervising Attorney shall be appointed
on the basis of required legal experience and other qualifications
appropriate to the responsibilities of the office.
The Supervising Attorney shall have the power to appoint such
deputies, assistants, and employees of the Department of Assigned
Counsel as may be necessary to perform the duties of the Office of
Supervising Attorney and as shall be authorized by the Tompkins County
Legislature. All deputies, assistants, and employees of the Department
shall be directly responsible to the Supervising Attorney.
Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, the Supervising
Attorney shall ensure that all indigent persons are provided with
quality legal representation in a timely manner through the Office
of Assigned Counsel. To this end the Supervising Attorney shall, with
advice from the Advisory Board on Indigent Representation:
(a) Develop and monitor program policies, standards, and operational
procedures;
(b) Ensure that standards of eligibility are developed;
(c) Ensure that applicants for counsel meet these standards, through
investigation where necessary;
(d) Work with the Bar Association to assure adequate attorney participation
and training;
(e) Supervise and/or locate attorneys to handle assignments;
(f) Review and act upon attorney vouchers for work performed;
(g) Serve as an information resource;
(h) Evaluate client complaints and inform the Advisory Board on Indigent
Representation of same.
The Supervising Attorney shall, under the general supervision
of the County Administrator, ensure that all operations of the office
conform to the policies and procedures adopted by the Tompkins County
Legislature.
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The Supervising Attorney and the staff of the Tompkins County
Assigned Counsel Program and all attorneys participating in the program
shall at all times be free from direct and indirect partisan or other
political pressure and influence in exercising their best professional
judgment and responsibilities in providing services to qualified indigent
persons. It shall at all times be the responsibility of the attorneys
participating in the program to act in the best interests of the persons
for whom they are rendering services.
There shall be an Advisory Board on Indigent Representation
consisting of 13 members appointed by majority vote of the Tompkins
County Legislature for staggered three-year terms. The members of
the Board should represent a diversity of membership in order to ensure
insulation from partisan politics; to represent the attorneys participating
in the programs; to represent the client community; and shall, to
the extent possible, contain representatives of the client community
and organizations concerned with the problems of the client community.
Two voting members of the Board shall be members of the Tompkins County
Legislature.
The Advisory Board on Indigent Representation shall have the
authority to draft bylaws for approval by the Tompkins County Legislature,
elect officers from its membership, and establish committees. Updated
copies of bylaws must be kept on file in the office of the Clerk of
the Tompkins County Legislature.
Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, the Advisory Board
on Indigent Representation shall have all the powers and perform all
the duties now or hereafter conferred or imposed by the Tompkins County
Legislature. The powers and duties of the Advisory Board on Indigent
Representation shall include:
(a) Recommending on appointment of a Supervising Attorney;
(b) Giving advice to the Supervising Attorney;
(c) Making recommendations from time to time as appropriate to the Tompkins
County Legislature and the Tompkins County Bar Association;
(d) Establishing and maintaining procedures appropriate for the purposes
of the Board; and
(e) Recommending and reviewing the creation and implementation of such
procedures as are appropriate to assure the highest quality of legal
representation for indigents who are eligible for legal representation
in the most cost-effective manner.