Highlights 77th Texas Legislature - Senate

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JURISPRUDENCE
77 th Texas Legislature
Authorizes a magistrate, upon the filing of an application by the attorney representing the state, to postpone
the release of a person for not more than 72 hours after the person's arrest.
Requires a court to appoint an attorney from a public appointment list using a system of rotation, except:
• in a county in which a public defender is appointed, the public defender may represent the
defendant;
• if a countywide alternative program for appointing counsel for indigent defendants in criminal cases
is established; or
• a court or the courts' designee may appoint an attorney from any county located the court's
administrative judicial region to represent a defendant accused of a felony.
Provides that a court shall appoint attorneys from among the next five names on the appointment list in the
order in which the attorneys' names appear, unless the court makes a finding of good cause on the record
for appointing an attorney out of order. An attorney who is not appointed in the order in which the
attorney's name appears on the list shall remain next in order on the list.
Requires the public appointment list to contain the names of attorneys who applied to be included on the
list, meet the objective qualifications specified by the judges and the Task Force on Indigent Defense
(TFID), and are approved by a majority of the judges establishing the appointment list.
Provides that in a county in which a court is required to appoint an attorney from a public appointment list
that county court and statutory county court judges for misdemeanor cases punishable by confinement, and
district court judges for felony cases, by formal action,
• shall establish a public appointment list of attorneys qualified to provide representation in such
cases in the county;
• shall specify the objective qualifications necessary for an attorney to be included; and
• may establish more than one appointment list graduated according to the degree of seriousness of
the offense and the attorneys' qualifications.
Provides that, if the court or the court's designee determines that the defendant does not understand
English or is deaf, an effort shall be made to appoint an attorney who is capable of communicating with the
defendant.
Requires county court, statutory county court, and district court judges trying criminal cases in each county
to adopt and publish written countywide procedures consistent with this act for timely and fairly appointing
counsel for indigent defendants arrested for or charged with a misdemeanor punishable by confinement or
a felony. These procedures must:
• authorize only county court, statutory county court, and district court judges trying criminal cases in
the county, or the judges' designees, to appoint counsel for indigent defendants in the county;
Senate Research Center 185