National Center for the Right to Counsel Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3741 To establish the National Center for the Right to Counsel. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 12, 2019 Mr. DEUTCH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To establish the National Center for the Right to Counsel. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Center for 4 the Right to Counsel Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution 8 of the United States provides that ‘‘In all criminal 9 prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3741.IH H3741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3741 IH . . . have the Assistance of Counsel for his de- 1 fense.’’. 2 (2) In Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 3 (1963), the United States Supreme Court held that 4 the States were required to provide counsel for indi- 5 gent defendants in all felony cases. 6 (3) In Argersinger v. Hamlin, 407 U.S. 25 7 (1972), the United States Supreme Court held that 8 indigent defendants are entitled to court-appointed 9 counsel in any case that leads to actual imprison- 10 ment. 11 (4) For more than 50 years, the States and 12 local governments have been struggling to satisfy 13 this mandate. 14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 15 In this Act: 16 (1) The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Board of Di- 17 rectors of the National Center for the Right to 18 Counsel. 19 (2) The term ‘‘Center’’ means the National 20 Center for the Right to Counsel established in this 21 Act. 22 (3) The term ‘‘indigent defendant’’ means a de- 23 fendant in a criminal case who is unable to afford 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3741.IH H3741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3741 IH a reasonable attorney’s fee in the case against such 1 person. 2 (4) The term ‘‘public defense services’’ means 3 legal assistance provided to an indigent defendant in 4 a criminal case against such person. 5 (5) The term ‘‘public defense system’’ means a 6 system that provides public defense services, and in- 7 cludes a system that is run by a State or local unit 8 of government, and a system that is run by a private 9 entity or individual that provides such services by 10 reason of a contract with a State or local unit of 11 government. 12 (6) The term ‘‘State’’ means any State of the 13 United States, the District of Columbia, the Com- 14 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 15 Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common- 16 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 17 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTER. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Dis- 19 trict of Columbia a private nonmembership nonprofit cor- 20 poration, which shall be known as the National Center for 21 the Right to Counsel, for the purpose of— 22 (1) providing financial support to supplement, 23 not supplant, funding for public defense systems; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3741.IH H3741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3741 IH (2) providing financial and substantive support 1 for training programs that aim to improve the deliv- 2 ery of legal services to indigent defendants. 3 (b) PRINCIPAL OFFICE; AGENT FOR SERVICE OF 4 PROCESS.—The Center shall maintain its principal office 5 in the District of Columbia and shall maintain therein a 6 designated agent to accept service of process for the Cen- 7 ter. Notice to or service upon the agent shall be deemed 8 notice to or service upon the Center. 9 (c) STATUS OF CENTER UNDER TAX LAWS.—The 10 Center shall be eligible to be treated as an organization 11 described in section 170(c)(2)(B) of the Internal Revenue 12 Code of 1986 and as an organization described in section 13 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which is 14 exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code. 15 If such treatments are conferred in accordance with the 16 provisions of such Code, the Center shall be subject to all 17 provisions of such Code relevant to the conduct of organi- 18 zations exempt from taxation. 19 SEC. 5. GOVERNING BODY. 20 (a) BOARD OF DIRECTORS ESTABLISHED.—The Cen- 21 ter shall have a Board of Directors consisting of 9 voting 22 members appointed by the President, by and with the ad- 23 vice and consent of the Senate. The President shall make 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3741.IH H3741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3741 IH such nominations not later than 60 days after the date 1 of the enactment of this Act. 2 (b) QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS.—The members 3 shall be qualified as follows: 4 (1) A majority of the members shall be mem- 5 bers of the bar of the highest court of any State. 6 (2) One member shall have been an indigent de- 7 fendant who received public defense services from a 8 public defense system. 9 (3) The members, except for the member de- 10 scribed in paragraph (2), shall have— 11 (A) significant experience in the legal de- 12 fense of criminal cases; 13 (B) demonstrated a commitment to quality 14 indigent defense representation; or 15 (C) demonstrated a commitment to work- 16 ing with and advocating for the population 17 served by the Center. 18 (c) TERMS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term of a member shall 20 be 5 years, except as provided in paragraphs (2) and 21 (4). 22 (2) FIRST TERMS.—As designated by the Presi- 23 dent at the time of appointment, of the members 24 first appointed— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3741.IH H3741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3741 IH (A) three shall be appointed for terms of 1 2 years; 2 (B) three shall be appointed for terms of 3 3 years; and 4 (C) three shall be appointed for terms of 4 5 years. 6 (3) REAPPOINTMENT.—No member may be re- 7 appointed to more than two consecutive terms imme- 8 diately following such member’s initial term. 9 (4) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed to fill 10 a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the 11 term for which the member’s predecessor was ap- 12 pointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of 13 that term. A member may serve after the expiration 14 of that member’s term until a successor has taken 15 office. A vacancy in the Board shall be filled in the 16 manner in which the original appointment was 17 made. 18 (5) REMOVAL FOR CAUSE.—A member of the 19 Board may be removed by the President for malfea- 20 sance in office, for persistent neglect of or inability 21 to discharge duties, or for offenses involving moral 22 turpitude, and for no other cause. 23 (d) MEMBERS NOT OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES OF A 24 GOVERNMENT.—The members of the Board shall not, by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3741.IH H3741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3741 IH reason of such membership, be deemed officers or employ- 1 ees of the Federal Government, a State government, local 2 government, or any law enforcement agency. 3 (e) CHAIRMAN.—The President shall select a chair- 4 man from among the initial members to serve for a period 5 of two years. Thereafter, the chairman shall be elected an- 6 nually by the members. 7 (f) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—No member of the Board, 9 member of a State advisory council, or employee of 10 a regional backup service center may participate in 11 any decision, action, or recommendation with respect 12 to any matter which directly benefits such member 13 or employee or pertains specifically to any firm or 14 organization with which such member or employee is 15 then associated or has been associated within a pe- 16 riod of two years. 17 (2) DISCLOSURE AND RECUSAL.—In the event 18 of a conflict of interest described in paragraph (1), 19 the member of the Board, member of a State advi- 20 sory council, or employee of a regional backup serv- 21 ice center who has a conflict shall disclose the inter- 22 est that the member or employee has in the matter, 23 subject to applicable attorney-client privilege, to the 24 Board, and— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3741.IH H3741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3741 IH (A) in the case of a member of a State ad- 1 visory council, to that council; or 2 (B) in the case of an employee of a re- 3 gional backup service center, to that center. 4 (3) WRITTEN POLICY.—The Center shall adopt 5 a written policy to ensure that paragraphs (1) and 6 (2) are carried out. 7 (g) STATE ADVISORY COUNCILS.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL; APPOINTMENT OF MEM- 9 BERS.—Each State shall have a State advisory coun- 10 cil composed of 9 members, appointed not later than 11 90 days after the first meeting of the Board as fol- 12 lows: 13 (A) Three members appointed by the Chief 14 Justice of the highest court of the State. 15 (B) Three members appointed by the 16 United States Senators for the State, or in the 17 case of a State that does not have Senators, ap- 18 pointed by the Member of the United States 19 House of Representatives for that State. 20 (C) Three members appointed by the chief 21 executive of the State. 22 (2) FAILURE TO APPOINT.—If 90 days have 23 elapsed without such an advisory council appointed 24 pursuant to paragraph (1), the Board is authorized 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3741.IH H3741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3741 IH to appoint such a council, or such remaining 1 unappointed members of the council, from among 2 the individuals recommended by the State bar asso- 3 ciation. 4 (3) QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS.—The mem- 5 bers of the advisory council shall be subject to the 6 qualifications under subsection (b), and shall be 7 made from among recommendations made by the 8 State bar association, in collaboration with the Ac- 9 cess to Justice Initiative of the Department of Jus- 10 tice. 11 (4) TERMS; VACANCIES.—The term of a mem- 12 ber of a State advisory council shall be 4 years. A 13 member may serve after the expiration of that mem- 14 ber’s term until a successor member takes office. A 15 vacancy on the council shall be filled in the manner 16 described in paragraph (2). 17 (5) POWERS.—Each State advisory council 18 shall— 19 (A) monitor, receive, and investigate com- 20 plaints regarding the compliance of public de- 21 fense systems in that State that receive funding 22 under this Act with the provisions of this Act 23 and applicable rules, regulations, and guidelines 24 promulgated pursuant to this Act; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3741.IH H3741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 3741 IH (B) notify the Center of any apparent vio- 1 lation of the provisions of this Act and applica- 2 ble rules, regulations, and guidelines promul- 3 gated pursuant to this Act, and furnish a copy 4 of the notification to any recipient affected 5 thereby, and the Center shall allow such recipi- 6 ent a reasonable time (but in no case less than 7 30 days) to reply to any allegation contained in 8 the notification; 9 (C) collect information and data on the de- 10 livery of public defense services in that State; 11 and 12 (D) facilitate the sharing of information 13 between public defense systems in that State. 14 (6) STAFF.—Each State advisory council may 15 appoint additional personnel as it considers appro- 16 priate in order to carry out paragraph (5)(A). 17 (7) REPORT.—Beginning on the date that is 18 one year after a State advisory council has its first 19 meeting, and annually thereafter, a State advisory 20 council shall submit to the Center a report that in- 21 cludes— 22 (A) an assessment on the provision of pub- 23 lic defense services in that State; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3741.IH H3741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 3741 IH (B) recommendations on actions that the 1 Center could take to— 2 (i) enhance compliance of public de- 3 fense systems in that State that receive 4 funding under this Act with the provisions 5 of this Act and applicable rules, regula- 6 tions, and guidelines promulgated pursuant 7 to this Act; and 8 (ii) improve the delivery of public de- 9 fense services in that State. 10 (h) OPEN MEETINGS; APPLICABILITY OF GOVERN- 11 MENT IN THE SUNSHINE PROVISIONS.—All meetings of 12 the Board, of any executive committee of the Board, and 13 of any advisory council established in connection with this 14 Act shall be open and shall be subject to the requirements 15 and provisions of section 552b of title 5, United States 16 Code (relating to open meetings). 17 (i) QUARTERLY MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet 18 at least 4 times during each calendar year. 19 SEC. 6. OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES. 20 (a) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND OTHER OFFICERS.— 21 The Board shall appoint the Executive Director of the 22 Center, who shall be a member of the bar of the highest 23 court of a State and shall be a nonvoting ex officio mem- 24 ber of the Board, and such other officers as the Board 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3741.IH H3741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 3741 IH determines necessary. No officer of the Center may receive 1 any salary or other compensation for services from any 2 source other than the Center during his period of employ- 3 ment by the Center, except as authorized by the Board. 4 All officers shall serve at the pleasure of the Board. 5 (b) APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL OF EMPLOYEES.— 6 The Executive Director of the Center, subject to general 7 policies established by the Board, may appoint and remove 8 such employees of the Center as the Executive Director 9 determines necessary to carry out the purposes of the Cen- 10 ter. 11 (c) NONPARTISAN APPOINTMENTS.—No political test 12 or political qualification shall be used in selecting, appoint- 13 ing, promoting, or taking any other personnel action with 14 respect to any officer, agent, or employee of the Center 15 or of any recipient, or in selecting or monitoring a [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]