Assembly Bill No. 17–Committee on Judiciary

 

(On Behalf of Legislative Committee to Study
Death Penalty and Related DNA Testing
(A.C.R. 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 $125 per hour in cases in which the death penalty is

2-1  sought and $75 per hour [.] in all other cases. Except for cases in

2-2  which the most serious crime is a felony punishable by death or by

2-3  imprisonment for life with or without possibility of parole, this

2-4  subsection does not preclude a governmental entity from contracting

2-5  with a private attorney who agrees to provide such services for a

2-6  lesser rate of compensation.

2-7  2.  [The] Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, the

2-8  total fee for each attorney in any matter regardless of the number of

2-9  offenses charged or ancillary matters pursued must not exceed:

2-10      (a) If the most serious crime is a felony punishable by death or

2-11  by imprisonment for life with or without possibility of parole,

2-12  [$12,000;] $20,000;

2-13      (b) If the most serious crime is a felony other than a felony

2-14  included in paragraph (a) or is a gross misdemeanor, $2,500;

2-15      (c) If the most serious crime is a misdemeanor, $750;

2-16      (d) For an appeal of one or more misdemeanor convictions,

2-17  $750; or

2-18      (e) For an appeal of one or more gross misdemeanor or felony

2-19  convictions, $2,500.

2-20      3.  [An] Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, an

2-21  attorney appointed by a district court to represent an indigent

2-22  petitioner for a writ of habeas corpus or other postconviction relief,

2-23  if the petitioner is imprisoned pursuant to a judgment of conviction

2-24  of a gross misdemeanor or felony, is entitled to be paid a fee not to

2-25  exceed $750.

2-26      4.  If the appointing court because of:

2-27      (a) The complexity of a case or the number of its factual or legal

2-28  issues;

2-29      (b) The severity of the offense;

2-30      (c) The time necessary to provide an adequate defense; or

2-31      (d) Other special circumstances,

2-32  deems it appropriate to grant a fee in excess of the applicable

2-33  maximum, the payment must be made, but only if the court in which

2-34  the representation was rendered certifies that the amount of the

2-35  excess payment is both reasonable and necessary and the payment is

2-36  approved by the presiding judge of the judicial district in which the

2-37  attorney was appointed, or if there is no such presiding judge or if

2-38  he presided over the court in which the representation was rendered,

2-39  then by the district judge who holds seniority in years of service in

2-40  office.

2-41      5.  The magistrate, the district court or the Supreme Court may,

2-42  in the interests of justice, substitute one appointed attorney for

2-43  another at any stage of the proceedings, but the total amount of fees

2-44  granted to all appointed attorneys must not exceed those allowable if

3-1  but one attorney represented or defended the defendant at all stages

3-2  of the criminal proceeding.

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

3-4  7.135  The attorney appointed by a magistrate or district court

3-5  to represent a defendant is entitled, in addition to the fee provided

3-6  by NRS 7.125 for his services, to be reimbursed for expenses

3-7  reasonably incurred by him in representing the defendant and may

3-8  employ, subject to the prior approval of the magistrate or the district

3-9  court in an ex parte application, such investigative, expert or other

3-10  services as may be necessary for an adequate defense.

3-11  Compensation to any person furnishing such investigative, expert or

3-12  other services must not exceed [$300,] $500, exclusive of

3-13  reimbursement for expenses reasonably incurred, unless payment in

3-14  excess of that limit is:

3-15      1.  Certified by the trial judge of the court, or by the magistrate

3-16  if the services were rendered in connection with a case disposed of

3-17  entirely before him, as necessary to provide fair compensation for

3-18  services of an unusual character or duration; and

3-19      2.  Approved by the presiding judge of the judicial district in

3-20  which the attorney was appointed[,] or , if there is no presiding

3-21  judge, by the district judge who holds seniority in years of service in

3-22  office.

3-23      Sec. 3.  Chapter 178 of NRS is hereby amended by adding

3-24  thereto a new section to read as follows:

3-25      If a magistrate or district court appoints an attorney, other than

3-26  a public defender, to represent a defendant accused of murder of

3-27  the first degree in a case in which the death penalty is sought, the

3-28  magistrate or court must appoint a team to defend the accused

3-29  person that includes:

3-30      1.  Two attorneys; and

3-31      2.  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