TRAVIS COUNTY FEE SCHEDULE
FOR APPOINTED COUNSEL IN JUVENILE CASES
EFFECTIVE 11/01/09 FOR SERVICES RENDERED ON OR AFTER THAT DATE
Pursuant to the Code of Criminal Procedure, Art.26.05, the following guidelines and fee schedule shall be used to claim attorney’s fees for appointed counsel in juvenile proceedings under Title 3 of the TFC.
HOURLY RATES
Attorneys will be paid on an hourly rate in the juvenile court appointed cases until such time as the Juvenile Board may approve a change in the current process to a fixed rate or daily rate fee schedule. An example of possible fixed rate or daily rate schedules are included for reference below.
Court appointed counsel will be compensated for time actually required by an appointment at an hourly rate of $75.00, and for Paralegal hourly rate of $30.00 or at rates as changed from time to time by the Juvenile Board. The exact rate will be dependent upon the complexity of the case and the experience and ability of the appointed counsel.
An itemized statement reflecting the date, service performed, and time expended, must be submitted with the request for payment form. Claims for payment should reflect time expended to the nearest 1/10th of an hour.
EXPENSES
Court appointed counsel shall be compensated for all necessary expenses: i.e., collect or long distance phone calls, copying expenses, postage, service of citation charges, auto mileage (at IRS rate) outside of Travis County, paralegal or legal assistant fees calculated at $30.00 per hour.
All major expenses, such as investigators or expert witnesses, will require written approval by the court prior to the expense being incurred.
Expenses incurred without prior court approval will not automatically be reimbursed. Such expenses shall be reimbursed if the Court determines that they are reasonably necessary and reasonably incurred upon presentation of a claim for reimbursement.
REQUESTS FOR PAYMENT
Court appointed counsel should make every effort to submit requests for payment promptly at the conclusion of a case. Request for payment forms shall be submitted no later than sixty (60) days from any final order of the court (i.e. finding of not delinquent, disposition, modification) or recessed adjudication order.
The appointed counsel must submit a form approved by the Juvenile Board for itemizing the services performed. This form should be submitted to the appropriate office as designated by said Juvenile Board. No payment shall be made until the form for itemizing the services performed is submitted to the judge presiding over the proceedings and the judge approved the payment.
Appointed counsel must use only the child’s initials for the child’s name on fee vouchers. All requests for payments must be accompanied by an itemized statement reflecting the date, services performed and time expended to the nearest 1/10th of an hour.
The judge will either approve the amount requested or enter written findings stating the amount of payment that the judge approves and each reason for approving an amount different from the requested amount.
CAVEAT
In an unusual case, the considerations set forth in Texas Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.04(b) may dictate a fee that is less than or more than the fee established by these guidelines.
FIXED RATE OR DAILY RATES
The following guidelines for fixed or daily rates of compensation are provided as a reference for informational purposes only. Attorneys will be paid at the Hourly Rate established above in this fee schedule until such time as the Juvenile Board takes action to institute a Fixed Rate Fee Schedule or Daily Rate Fee Schedule.
FIXED RATES: These fees, if adopted by the Juvenile Board, would be the standard compensation under a Fixed Rate Fee Schedule for the following services:
a) Secure release from detention $ 60.00
b) Non-evidentiary pre-trial (necessary motions) $ 100.00
c) Evidentiary pre-trial (less than half day) $ 250.00
d) Non-jury trial (less than half day) $ 500.00
e) Plea and disposition (same setting) $ 350.00
f) Plea and disposition (separate settings) $ 400.00
g) Probation modification (non-contested) $ 250.00
h) Writ hearings $ 250.00
i) Appeals $1,500.00
DAILY RATES: This rate, if adopted by the Juvenile Board, would be the standard compensation under a Daily Rate Fee Schedule. Daily rates are premised on a minimum of six hours spent in court. If less time is spent the fee will be reduced. The Daily Rate fee includes compensation for preparation time.
a) Non-jury trial $ 600.00
b) Jury trial $ 800.00