ADDENDUM TO TECHINCAL SUPPORT APPLICATION ON BEHALF OF THE BEXAR COUNTY APPELLATE PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE, 4TH COURT OF APPEALS PILOT PROJECT

On May 14, 2008 the Bexar County Appellate Public Defender’s Office (BCAPDO) presented a technical support application to the members of the Grants and Reporting Committee for their consideration. The application requested $140,520.96 in additional funding for the 4th Court of Appeals Pilot Project. This additional funding was requested in order to prolong the period during which the BCAPDO may provide appellate representation to indigent appellants in all of the counties under the jurisdiction of the Fourth Court of Appeals at no cost to these counties. The BCAPDO provided a number of reasons for requesting additional time and funding for this project, the majority of which stemmed from the obstacles inherent to launching a multi-county project of this nature.

Presenting our Technical Support Application in person allowed us to discuss the terms of our proposal with the members of the Grants and Reporting Committee directly, and in light of their comments and suggestions, and our own vision about how we may be able to begin billing participating counties for our services within a shorter time frame, we have developed a modification of our initial application. As opposed to asking for funding for an additional 12 months, we would like to request funding for only 6 months, and during this period we will begin transitioning to a fee-for-service arrangement with the participating counties.

REVISION TO FUNDING REQUESTED

In the Budget Narrative portion of our previously submitted application we presented an analysis of the operational expenses associated with the 4th Court of Appeals Pilot Project, and we provided a cost per month for the project of $10,522.07. This figure provided the foundation for the total amount we requested in funding. $140,520.96 represents $10,522.07 multiplied by 12, with the addition of requested increases in funding for postage and travel expenses. As we are moving to modify out initial application, and to request support for 6 months as opposed to 12, we would like to request half that total amount: $70,260.48.

FOCUS ON SHIFTING TO A FEE-FOR-SERVICE ARRANGEMENT WITH PARTICIPATING COUNTIES

The overarching goal of the 4th Court of Appeals Pilot Project is to create a relationship between our office and the counties participating in this project that will allow for a long-term and sustainable system in which indigent appeals from these counties are channeled to the BCAPDO. For obvious reasons the development of buy-in methods, and the transition to a fee-for-service arrangement, is paramount to the long-term success of this program.

In considering the terms of our recent technical support application, we have come to the conclusion that it was unevenly focused on data collection, and did not place enough emphasis on achieving sustainability for this project. We have thus reworked our proposal and fashioned a plan that we believe represents a compromise between these two goals. Additional funding for a 6 month period would enable us to both improve the quality of the data we are collecting (within that period we expect a number of the appeals we are working on to come to final resolution) and to begin charging the counties for our work.

We have decided that a simple fee-for service method will be the best way to begin charging the counties for our appellate work. Funding from the Task Force during this period will enable the BCAPDO to meet overhead costs while payments are accepted from the counties as appointments are made. When we began planning this project in April of 2007, one of our main goals was to devise methods of payment that would involve single-upfront “buy-in” from the counties in exchange for service over a one-year period. This remains our goal, but given what we have learned about the logistics of working with these counties, we believe we will have greater success if we add an intermediary step.

As the appeals that we are currently handling reach final resolution, we plan to mail all of the relevant officials in the appointing counties a letter that compares what it cost the BCAPDO to handle the appeal with what they would have spent on local-appointed counsel. We will use our own calculations on the total cost (based on attorney time) of each appeal from a given county, to formulate a cost-per-case to present to these counties for every different type of appeal. With this arrangement county officials will be able to begin paying the BCAPDO smaller sums of money without having to commit to long-term service. We believe that requiring such a commitment from these counties at the outset may overwhelm local officials and lead them to abandon the idea of working with the BCAPDO.

After we have begun collecting payments from participating counties as they make appointments, we will start working with local commissioners and judges to devise annual buy-in methods. We have collected information on how much each of our participating counties spends on appeals handled by appointed counsel, and these figures will necessarily factor into our buy-in plans. We are confident that offering a more-cost effective means by which to handle indigent appeals, especially after these counties have had experience with paying for the work of the BCAPDO, will attract a number of counties.

COUNTY/COUNTIES / PAYMENT PLAN FOR INDIGENT
CRIMINAL APPEALS
Atascosa, Frio, Karnes,
La Salle, Wilson / FELONY: $50 per hour, Cap of $2,500
CAPITAL: $100 per hour, Cap of $15,000
Bandera, Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Mason, Menard / JUVENILE, FELONY, NON-FELONY:
-Time in Court: $40-$90 per hour
-Time out of Court: $50-$90 per hour
Brooks, Jim Wells
Dimmit, Maverick, Zavala
Duval, Jim Hogg, Starr
Edwards*, Kinney*, Val Verde
Guadalupe
McMullen
Medina, Real, Uvalde
Sutton

*Not currently participating in the 4th Court of Appeals Pilot Project.