1. The Office of State Public Defender is hereby created within
the Department of Health and Human Services.
2. The Governor shall appoint the State Public Defender for a term
of 4 years, and until a successor is appointed and qualified.
3. The State Public Defender:
(a) Must be an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of
Nevada.
(b) Is in the unclassified service of the State.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in NRS 7.065 , shall not engage in the private practice of
law.
4. No officer or agency of the State, other than the Governor and
the Director of the Department of Health and Human Services, may
supervise the State Public Defender. No officer or agency of the State,
other than the Governor, may assign the State Public Defender duties in
addition to those prescribed by this chapter.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 1410; A 1973, 707; 1977, 1176; 1989, 202;
1993, 1518)
1. The State Public Defender may employ:
(a) Deputy state public defenders in the unclassified service of
the State.
(b) Clerical, investigative and other necessary staff in the
classified service of the State.
2. Each deputy state public defender must be an attorney licensed
to practice law in the State of Nevada, and shall not engage in the
practice of law, except in performing the duties of his office and as
otherwise provided in NRS 7.065 .
(Added to NRS by 1971, 1411; A 1977, 159; 1981, 1270; 1985, 394;
1989, 202)
1. The Office of the State Public Defender shall be in Carson
City, Nevada, and the Buildings and Grounds Division of the Department of
Administration shall provide necessary office space.
2. The State Public Defender may establish branch offices
necessary to perform his duties. He shall designate a deputy state public
defender to supervise each such office.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 1411)
1. The State Public Defender may contract with attorneys licensed
to practice law in the State of Nevada and with county public defenders
to provide services required by this chapter if it is impracticable for
him or his deputies to provide such services for any reason.
2. All such contract services shall be performed under the
supervision and control of the State Public Defender.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 1411; A 1973, 706)
1. The State Public Defender may, before being designated as
counsel for that person pursuant to NRS 171.188 , interview an indigent person when he has been
arrested and confined for a public offense or for questioning on
suspicion of having committed a public offense.
2. The State Public Defender shall, when designated pursuant to
NRS 62D.030 , 62D.100 , 171.188
or 432B.420 , and within the limits of available money, represent without
charge each indigent person for whom he is appointed.
3. When representing an indigent person, the State Public Defender
shall:
(a) Counsel and defend him at every stage of the proceedings,
including revocation of probation or parole; and
(b) Prosecute any appeals or other remedies before or after
conviction that he considers to be in the interests of justice.
4. In cases of postconviction proceedings and appeals arising in
counties in which the office of public defender has been created pursuant
to the provisions of chapter 260 of NRS,
where the matter is to be presented to the Supreme Court, the State
Public Defender shall prepare and present the case and the public
defender of the county shall assist and cooperate with the State Public
Defender.
5. The State Public Defender may contract with any county in which
the office of public defender has been created to provide representation
for indigent persons when the court, for cause, disqualifies the county
public defender or when the county public defender is otherwise unable to
provide representation.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 1411; A 1973, 358; 1975, 41; 1977, 338;
1985, 1398; 2003, 1124 )
Repealed. (See chapter 3, Statutes of Nevada 2005,
at page 3 .)
1. The State Public Defender shall submit:
(a) A report on or before December 1 of each year to the Governor
and to each participating county containing a statement of:
(1) The number of cases that are pending in each
participating county;
(2) The number of cases in each participating county that
were closed in the previous fiscal year;
(3) The total number of criminal defendants represented in
each participating county with separate categories specifying the crimes
charged and whether the defendant was less than 18 years of age or an
adult;
(4) The total number of working hours spent by the State
Public Defender and his staff on work for each participating county; and
(5) The amount and categories of the expenditures made by
his office.
(b) To each participating county, on or before December 1 of each
even-numbered year, the total proposed budget of the State Public
Defender for that county, including the projected number of cases and the
projected cost of services attributed to the county for the next biennium.
(c) Such reports to the Legislative Commission as the regulations
of the Commission require.
2. As used in this section, “participating county” means each
county in which the office of public defender has not been created
pursuant to NRS 260.010 .
(Added to NRS by 1971, 1412; A 1977, 331; 1995, 498)
Except as provided in subsections 4 and
5 of NRS 180.060 , the provisions of
this chapter apply only to counties in which the office of public
defender has not been created pursuant to the provisions of chapter 260
of NRS.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 1412; A 1975, 42; 1977, 338)
The
provisions of this chapter do not exclude any protection or sanction that
the law otherwise provides.
(Added to NRS by 1971, 1412)
1. Each fiscal year the State Public Defender may collect from the
counties amounts which do not exceed those authorized by the Legislature
for use of his services during that year.
2. The State Public Defender shall submit to the county an
estimate on or before the first day of May and that estimate becomes the
final bill unless the county is notified of a change within 2 weeks after
the date on which the county contribution is approved by the Legislature.
The county shall pay the bill:
(a) In full within 30 days after the estimate becomes the final
bill or the county receives the revised estimate; or
(b) In equal quarterly installments on or before the 1st day of
July, October, January and April, respectively.
Ê The counties shall pay their respective amounts to the State Public
Defender who shall deposit the amounts with the Treasurer of the State of
Nevada and shall expend the money in accordance with his approved budget.
(Added to NRS by 1973, 719; A 1975, 714; 1977, 309; 1983, 528;
1991, 995)
|
