Assembly Bill No. 17–Committee on Judiciary

 

CHAPTER..........

 

AN ACT relating to criminal procedure; increasing the presumptive limits for attorneys’ fees in first degree murder cases; increasing the presumptive limits for ancillary expenses in criminal proceedings; requiring the court to appoint certain persons to assist in the defense of a person in certain cases involving murder of the first degree; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

    Section 1.  NRS 7.125 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    7.125  1.  Except as limited by subsections 2, 3 and 4, an

attorney , other than a public defender , who is appointed by a

magistrate or a district court to represent or defend a defendant at

any stage of the criminal proceedings from the defendant’s initial

appearance before the magistrate or the district court through the

appeal, if any, is entitled to receive a fee for court appearances and

other time reasonably spent on the matter to which the appointment

is made[, $75] of $125 per hour in cases in which the death

penalty is sought and $100 per hour [.] in all other cases. Except

for cases in which the most serious crime is a felony punishable by

death or by imprisonment for life with or without possibility of

parole, this subsection does not preclude a governmental entity from

contracting with a private attorney who agrees to provide such

services for a lesser rate of compensation.

    2.  [The] Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, the

total fee for each attorney in any matter regardless of the number of

offenses charged or ancillary matters pursued must not exceed:

    (a) If the most serious crime is a felony punishable by death or

by imprisonment for life with or without possibility of parole,

[$12,000;] $20,000;

    (b) If the most serious crime is a felony other than a felony

included in paragraph (a) or is a gross misdemeanor, $2,500;

    (c) If the most serious crime is a misdemeanor, $750;

    (d) For an appeal of one or more misdemeanor convictions,

$750; or

    (e) For an appeal of one or more gross misdemeanor or felony

convictions, $2,500.

    3.  [An] Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, an

attorney appointed by a district court to represent an indigent

petitioner for a writ of habeas corpus or other postconviction relief,

if the petitioner is imprisoned pursuant to a judgment of conviction

of a gross misdemeanor or felony, is entitled to be paid a fee not to

exceed $750.

    4.  If the appointing court because of:

    (a) The complexity of a case or the number of its factual or legal

issues;

    (b) The severity of the offense;

    (c) The time necessary to provide an adequate defense; or

    (d) Other special circumstances,

deems it appropriate to grant a fee in excess of the applicable

maximum, the payment must be made, but only if the court in which

the representation was rendered certifies that the amount of the

excess payment is both reasonable and necessary and the payment is

approved by the presiding judge of the judicial district in which the

attorney was appointed, or if there is no such presiding judge or if

he presided over the court in which the representation was rendered,

then by the district judge who holds seniority in years of service in

office.

    5.  The magistrate, the district court or the Supreme Court may,

in the interests of justice, substitute one appointed attorney for

another at any stage of the proceedings, but the total amount of fees

granted to all appointed attorneys must not exceed those allowable if

but one attorney represented or defended the defendant at all stages

of the criminal proceeding.

    Sec. 2.  NRS 7.135 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    7.135  The attorney appointed by a magistrate or district court

to represent a defendant is entitled, in addition to the fee provided

by NRS 7.125 for his services, to be reimbursed for expenses

reasonably incurred by him in representing the defendant and may

employ, subject to the prior approval of the magistrate or the district

court in an ex parte application, such investigative, expert or other

services as may be necessary for an adequate defense.

Compensation to any person furnishing such investigative, expert or

other services must not exceed [$300,] $500, exclusive of

reimbursement for expenses reasonably incurred, unless payment in

excess of that limit is:

    1.  Certified by the trial judge of the court, or by the magistrate

if the services were rendered in connection with a case disposed of

entirely before him, as necessary to provide fair compensation for

services of an unusual character or duration; and

    2.  Approved by the presiding judge of the judicial district in

which the attorney was appointed[,] or , if there is no presiding

judge, by the district judge who holds seniority in years of service in

office.

 

 

    Sec. 3.  Chapter 178 of NRS is hereby amended by adding

thereto a new section to read as follows:

    If a magistrate or district court appoints an attorney, other than

a public defender, to represent a defendant accused of murder of

the first degree in a case in which the death penalty is sought, the

magistrate or court must appoint a team to defend the accused

person that includes:

    1.  Two attorneys; and

    2.  Any other person as deemed necessary by the court, upon

motion of an attorney representing the defendant.

    Sec. 4.  The provisions of subsection 1 of NRS 354.599 do not

apply to any additional expenses of a local government that are

related to the provisions of this act.

 

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