Missouri governor ORDERED to be a public defender.

Taking advantage of a law that allows him to assign any case to any member of the state bar, Missouri’s chief public defender, Michael Barrett, appointed Missouri Governor Jay Nixon (a fiscally conservative Democrat finishing his second term) as the defense attorney of a poor client this week, citing the governor’s refusal to provide his office with the resources it needs.

“As of yet, I have not utilized this provision because it is my sincere belief that is wrong to reassign an obligation placed on the state by the 6th and 14th Amendments to private attorneys who have in no way contributed to the current crisis,” reads the letter Barrett sent Nixon dated Tuesday. “However, given the extraordinary circumstances that compel me to entertain any and all avenues for relief, it strikes me that I should begin with the one attorney in the state who not only created the problem, but is in a unique position to address it.”


Last month, the Missouri State Public Defender—allegedly the second worst-funded public defender’s office in the country—sued the governor after he withheld $3.5 million in caseload relief funding while reportedly leaving other executive agencies largely untouched.
“This action comes even after the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice found that poor black people are being deprived of their rights in Missouri due in large part to the lack of public defenders,” wrote Barrett. “As Director of the Public Defender System, I can only hire attorneys when I have the funding to do so.”
“Therefore,” Barrett concluded, “I hereby appoint you, Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Bar No. 29603, to enter your appearance as counsel of record in the attached case. Very truly yours, Michael Barrett.”

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RogueWarrior said:

In great example of badassery, the chief public defender ordered the governor of Missouri to defend a poor person.


[h=1]Overburdened Public Defender's Office Orders Missouri Governor to Defend Poor Client[/h]


My emphasis.
BIG SHINY BRASS ONES.

I wonder why the governor feels poor people don't need and/or deserve proper representation in court.
There are no private prisons in MO (I think), so he can't be trying to fill them up.

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Sherman123 said:

I'm doubtful about this. In most states, and I'd be surprised if Missouri is different, it's the trial court that has to 'delegate' a case to private counsel.

Edit: "Under Section 600.064 of Missouri law, only the circuit court can appoint a private attorney to represent an indigent criminal defendant. Section 600.042.5, the statute referenced by the public defender, authorizes the public defender to "delegate" representation by contracting with private counsel, which requires the consent of the private attorney."

Overworked, Underfunded Missouri Public Defender Office Assigns Case — To The Governor : The Two-Way : NPR

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600.064. 1. Before a circuit court judge appoints private counsel to represent an indigent defendant, the judge shall:
(1) Investigate the defendant's financial status to verify that the defendant does not have the means to obtain counsel;
(2) Provide each appointed lawyer, upon request, with an evidentiary hearing as to the propriety of the appointment, taking into consideration the lawyer's right to earn a livelihood and be free from involuntary servitude. If the judge determines after the hearing that the appointment will cause any undue hardship to the lawyer, the judge shall appoint another lawyer; and
(3) Determine whether the private counsel to be appointed possesses the necessary experience, education, and expertise in criminal defense to provide effective assistance of counsel.
2. No judge shall require a lawyer to advance personal funds in any amount for the payment of litigation expenses to prepare a proper defense for an indigent defendant.
3. If an employee of the general assembly is appointed to represent an indigent defendant during the time period beginning January first and ending June first of each year, or whenever the general assembly is in a veto session or special session or is holding out-of-session committee hearings, the judge who made the appointment shall postpone the trial and all other proceedings of any kind or nature to a date that does not fall within such time period or appoint a different lawyer who is not an employee of the general assembly to represent the defendant.
4. Private counsel appointed to represent an indigent defendant may seek payment of litigation expenses from the public defender system. Such litigation expenses shall not include counsel fees and shall be limited to those expenses approved in advance by the director as reasonably necessary for the proper defense of the defendant.

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Director's duties and powers--cases for which representation is authorized--rules, procedure--discretionary powers of defender system--bar members appointment authorized.

600.042. 1. The director shall:
(1) Direct and supervise the work of the deputy directors and other state public defender office personnel appointed pursuant to this chapter; and he or she and the deputy director or directors may participate in the trial and appeal of criminal actions at the request of the defender;
(2) Submit to the commission, between August fifteenth and September fifteenth of each year, a report which shall include all pertinent data on the operation of the state public defender system, the costs, projected needs, and recommendations for statutory changes. Prior to October fifteenth of each year, the commission shall submit such report along with such recommendations, comments, conclusions, or other pertinent information it chooses to make to the chief justice, the governor, and the general assembly. Such reports shall be a public record, shall be maintained in the office of the state public defender, and shall be otherwise distributed as the commission shall direct;
(3) With the approval of the commission, establish such divisions, facilities and offices and select such professional, technical and other personnel, including investigators, as he deems reasonably necessary for the efficient operation and discharge of the duties of the state public defender system under this chapter;
(4) Administer and coordinate the operations of defender services and be responsible for the overall supervision of all personnel, offices, divisions and facilities of the state public defender system, except that the director shall have no authority to direct or control the legal defense provided by a defender to any person served by the state public defender system;
(5) Develop programs and administer activities to achieve the purposes of this chapter;
(6) Keep and maintain proper financial records with respect to the provision of all public defender services for use in the calculating of direct and indirect costs of any or all aspects of the operation of the state public defender system;
(7) Supervise the training of all public defenders and other personnel and establish such training courses as shall be appropriate;
(8) With approval of the commission, promulgate necessary rules, regulations and instructions consistent with this chapter defining the organization of the state public defender system and the responsibilities of division directors, district defenders, deputy district defenders, assistant public defenders and other personnel;
(9) With the approval of the commission, apply for and accept on behalf of the public defender system any funds which may be offered or which may become available from government grants, private gifts, donations or bequests or from any other source. Such moneys shall be deposited in the state general revenue fund;
(10) Contract for legal services with private attorneys on a case-by-case basis and with assigned counsel as the commission deems necessary considering the needs of the area, for fees approved and established by the commission;
(11) With the approval and on behalf of the commission, contract with private attorneys for the collection and enforcement of liens and other judgments owed to the state for services rendered by the state public defender system;

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(12) Prepare a plan to establish district offices, the boundaries of which shall coincide with existing judicial circuits. Any district office may contain more than one judicial circuit within its boundaries, but in no event shall any district office boundary include any geographic region of a judicial circuit without including the entire judicial circuit. The director shall submit the plan to the chair of the house judiciary committee and the chair of the senate judiciary committee, with fiscal estimates, by December 31, 2014. The plan shall be implemented by December 31, 2018.
2. No rule or portion of a rule promulgated under the authority of this chapter shall become effective unless it has been promulgated pursuant to the provisions of section 536.024.
3. The director and defenders shall, within guidelines as established by the commission and as set forth in subsection 4 of this section, accept requests for legal services from eligible persons entitled to counsel under this chapter or otherwise so entitled under the Constitution or laws of the United States or of the state of Missouri and provide such persons with legal services when, in the discretion of the director or the defenders, such provision of legal services is appropriate.
4. The director and defenders shall provide legal services to an eligible person:
(1) Who is detained or charged with a felony, including appeals from a conviction in such a case;
(2) Who is detained or charged with a misdemeanor which will probably result in confinement in the county jail upon conviction, including appeals from a conviction in such a case, unless the prosecuting or circuit attorney has waived a jail sentence;
(3) Who is charged with a violation of probation when it has been determined by a judge that the appointment of counsel is necessary to protect the person's due process rights under section 559.036;
(4) Who has been taken into custody pursuant to section 632.489, including appeals from a determination that the person is a sexually violent predator and petitions for release, notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary;
(5) For whom the Federal Constitution or the State Constitution requires the appointment of counsel; and
(6) Who is charged in a case in which he or she faces a loss or deprivation of liberty, and in which the federal or the State Constitution or any law of this state requires the appointment of counsel; however, the director and the defenders shall not be required to provide legal services to persons charged with violations of county or municipal ordinances, or misdemeanor offenses except as provided in this section.
5. The director may:
(1) Delegate the legal representation of any person to any member of the state bar of Missouri;
(2) Designate persons as representatives of the director for the purpose of making indigency determinations and assigning counsel.

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Moot said:

I just hope the "poor person" isn't sitting in jail while the public defender and the governor sort out their differences.

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RogueWarrior said:

This is America. Home of the Affluenza Defense, of course he sits in jail. BUt that would be any different from a public defender handling up to 200 cases.

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