NCJ Number
103682
Date Published
1986
Length
110 pages
Annotation
This study of indigency defense services' screening and collection procedures considers their compliance with due process requirements and their cost effectiveness, accompanied by recommendations for indigency screening and cost recovery.
Abstract
Existing relevant studies were reviewed: the National Criminal Defense Systems Survey, a 50-State statutory survey of indigency screening and recoupment, and an 18-State survey of screening and recoupment. A telephone survey of 24 jurisdictions obtained additional information on sites with known screening or cost recovery programs. Three site visits were conducted: Los Angeles, Calif.; Seattle, Wash.; and Colorado. A discussion of procedures for determining the eligibility of potentially indigent defendants provides numerous examples of the types of eligibility tests being used to screen defendants. A review of the methods used to collect all or part of defense costs from indigent defendants considers the typical method of ordering recoupment after case disposition and the more recent practice of collecting payments from partial indigents prior to disposition. The relative cost-efficiency of the different approaches to cost recovery is analyzed. The report concludes with a summary of the guidelines and recommendations regarding the implementation and operation of screening and cost-recovery mechanisms. The appendixes contain recoupment and eligibility specifications by State, eligibility guidelines (Los Angeles and North Dakota), and a model collection agency agreement (North Dakota).