Assembly Bill No. 17–Committee on Judiciary

 

(On Behalf of Legislative Committee to Study
Death Penalty and Related DNA Testing
(ACR 3 of the 17th Special Session))

 

Prefiled January 27, 2003

____________

 

Referred to Committee on Judiciary

 

SUMMARY—Makes various changes concerning defense in cases involving first degree murder. (BDR 1‑201)

 

FISCAL NOTE:  Effect on Local Government: Yes.

                           Effect on the State: No.

 

CONTAINS UNFUNDED MANDATE (§§ 1, 2, 3)

(Not Requested by Affected Local Government)

 

~

 

EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

 

AN ACT relating to criminal procedure; increasing the presumptive limits for attorneys’ fees in first degree murder cases; increasing the presumptive limits for ancillary expenses in criminal proceedings; requiring the court to appoint certain persons to assist in the defense of a person in certain cases involving murder of the first degree; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

1-1  Section 1.  NRS 7.125 is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-2  7.125  1.  Except as limited by subsections 2, 3 and 4, an

1-3  attorney , other than a public defender , who is appointed by a

1-4  magistrate or a district court to represent or defend a defendant at

1-5  any stage of the criminal proceedings from the defendant’s initial

1-6  appearance before the magistrate or the district court through the

1-7  appeal, if any, is entitled to receive a fee for court appearances and

1-8  other time reasonably spent on the matter to which the appointment

1-9  is made[,] of $75 per hour. Except for cases in which the most

2-1  serious crime is a felony punishable by death or by imprisonment

2-2  for life with or without possibility of parole, this subsection does not

2-3  preclude a governmental entity from contracting with a private

2-4  attorney who agrees to provide such services for a lesser rate of

2-5  compensation.

2-6  2.  [The] Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, the

2-7  total fee for each attorney in any matter regardless of the number of

2-8  offenses charged or ancillary matters pursued must not exceed:

2-9  (a) If the most serious crime is a felony punishable by death or

2-10  by imprisonment for life with or without possibility of parole,

2-11  [$12,000;] $20,000;

2-12      (b) If the most serious crime is a felony other than a felony

2-13  included in paragraph (a) or is a gross misdemeanor, $2,500;

2-14      (c) If the most serious crime is a misdemeanor, $750;

2-15      (d) For an appeal of one or more misdemeanor convictions,

2-16  $750; or

2-17      (e) For an appeal of one or more gross misdemeanor or felony

2-18  convictions, $2,500.

2-19      3.  [An] Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, an

2-20  attorney appointed by a district court to represent an indigent

2-21  petitioner for a writ of habeas corpus or other postconviction relief,

2-22  if the petitioner is imprisoned pursuant to a judgment of conviction

2-23  of a gross misdemeanor or felony, is entitled to be paid a fee not to

2-24  exceed $750.

2-25      4.  If the appointing court because of:

2-26      (a) The complexity of a case or the number of its factual or legal

2-27  issues;

2-28      (b) The severity of the offense;

2-29      (c) The time necessary to provide an adequate defense; or

2-30      (d) Other special circumstances,

2-31  deems it appropriate to grant a fee in excess of the applicable

2-32  maximum, the payment must be made, but only if the court in which

2-33  the representation was rendered certifies that the amount of the

2-34  excess payment is both reasonable and necessary and the payment is

2-35  approved by the presiding judge of the judicial district in which the

2-36  attorney was appointed, or if there is no such presiding judge or if

2-37  he presided over the court in which the representation was rendered,

2-38  then by the district judge who holds seniority in years of service in

2-39  office.

2-40      5.  The magistrate, the district court or the Supreme Court may,

2-41  in the interests of justice, substitute one appointed attorney for

2-42  another at any stage of the proceedings, but the total amount of fees

2-43  granted to all appointed attorneys must not exceed those allowable if

2-44  but one attorney represented or defended the defendant at all stages

2-45  of the criminal proceeding.

3-1  Sec. 2.  NRS 7.135 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-2  7.135  The attorney appointed by a magistrate or district court

3-3  to represent a defendant is entitled, in addition to the fee provided

3-4  by NRS 7.125 for his services, to be reimbursed for expenses

3-5  reasonably incurred by him in representing the defendant and may

3-6  employ, subject to the prior approval of the magistrate or the district

3-7  court in an ex parte application, such investigative, expert or other

3-8  services as may be necessary for an adequate defense.

3-9  Compensation to any person furnishing such investigative, expert or

3-10  other services must not exceed [$300,] $500, exclusive of

3-11  reimbursement for expenses reasonably incurred, unless payment in

3-12  excess of that limit is:

3-13      1.  Certified by the trial judge of the court, or by the magistrate

3-14  if the services were rendered in connection with a case disposed of

3-15  entirely before him, as necessary to provide fair compensation for

3-16  services of an unusual character or duration; and

3-17      2.  Approved by the presiding judge of the judicial district in

3-18  which the attorney was appointed[,] or , if there is no presiding

3-19  judge, by the district judge who holds seniority in years of service in

3-20  office.

3-21      Sec. 3.  Chapter 178 of NRS is hereby amended by adding

3-22  thereto a new section to read as follows:

3-23      If a magistrate or district court appoints an attorney, other than

3-24  a public defender, to represent a defendant accused of murder of

3-25  the first degree, the magistrate or court must appoint a team to

3-26  defend the accused person that includes:

3-27      1.  Two attorneys;

3-28      2.  An investigator;

3-29      3.  A mitigation specialist or reasonable equivalent;

3-30      4.  A forensic psychiatrist or forensic psychologist; and

3-31      5.  Any other person as deemed necessary by the court, upon

3-32  motion of an attorney representing the defendant.

3-33      Sec. 4.  The provisions of subsection 1 of NRS 354.599 do not

3-34  apply to any additional expenses of a local government that are

3-35  related to the provisions of this act.

 

3-36  H