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ORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE CREATING THE POSITION OF PUBLIC DEFENDER FOR
THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS, APPROPRIATING MONEY
FOR THE OPERATION OF THE OFFICE, ESTABLISHING DUTIES, FUNC-
TIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE PUBLIC DEFENDER AND
AUTHORIZING THE IMPOSITION OF TWO DOLLAR COURT COST FROM
PRESENT FINES BEING ASSESSED TO FUND THE PUBLIC DEFENDER'S
OFFICE, AND TO COVER MUNICIPAL COURT AND PUBLIC DEFENDER
OFFICE EXPENSES; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS:
SECTION 1, There is hereby created the position of Public Defender
for the City of Jacksonville, Arkansas. Any person appointed as Public
Defender for the City of Jacksonville shall be a qualified elector and licensed
to practice law in the State of Arkansas.
SECTION 2. The Jacksonville Municipal Judge shall submit the
l i name or names of those persons, which in the opinion of the Judge, are
qualified to serve as the Public Defender and the appointment must be con-
firmed by written resolution by the City Council by a majority vote. In the
event of any subsequent vacancy in the office of Public Defender for the
City of Jacksonville and the Municipal Judge fails to submit a name or names
to the City Council to fill the vacancy within ten (10) days after the vacancy
exists, then the Mayor shall make the appointment of the person to serve
as Public Defender and the appointment must be confirmed by the City
Council.
SECTION 3: The person appointed to serve as Public Defender for
the City of Jacksonville shall not be subject to Civil Service. The Public
Defender shall maintain records regarding the conduct of his office and the
performance of his duties pursuant to procedures which may be established
by the Municipal Judge of the City of Jacksonville; and shall represent
indigent defendants before the Municipal Court of the City.
SECTION 4: There is hereby appropriated the sum of Two and
no /100 Dollars ($2.00) from all criminal and traffic court fines presently
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levied to pay for the operation of the Public Defender's office for the re-
maining balance of the year 1977 and said cost will be continued in the future
to cover the eration cost of the office in future ears. The salary to be
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paid to the Public Defender shall not be less than Three Thousand Five
Hundred Dollars ($3,500.00) nor more than Five Thousand Five Hundred
Dollars ($5,500.00) per year, said salary being set by the Municipal Judge
and requiring approval of the City Council.
SECTION 5: There shall be levied and collected the sum of Two
and no /100 Dollars ($2.00) by both the Criminal and Traffic Divisions of
the Municipal Court from each defendant, upon each judgment of conviction,
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and upon each plea of guilty or Nolo Contendre, in each case heard and
determined by the Criminal and Traffic Divisions of the Municipal Court
of
this City. For each moving violation for which a fine is paid, without contest
in Municipal Traffic Court, there shall be levied and collected the sum of
One Dollar ($1 .00). The Two Dollar ($2.00) cost imposed by this Ordinance
shall be paid into the City's General Fund and said monies are to be used to
fund the operation of the Public Defender for the City of Jacksonville, and to
cover additional Municipal Court cost in implementing said program.
SECTION 6: Any person desiring to obtain the services of the Public
Defender for the City of Jacksonville shall affirm in writing that he or she
is without funds or assets with which to employ private counsel; the affirma-
tion shall further provide in bold print that . a false statement as to the finan-
cial status of that person shall be punishable by imprisonment of not less
than thirty (30) days or more than one year with a fine of not less than Five
Hundred Dollars ($500,00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1000.00).
The affirmation certificate shall be provided by the Public Defender to the
indigent person and upon execution of same the affirmation shall be a
permanent part of the indigent person's record.
SECTION 7: If any provision of this ordinance or the application
thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall
not affect other provisions or applications of this ordinance which may be
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given effect without the invalid provision or application and to this end the
provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable.
SECTION 8: All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict here-
with are hereby repealed.
SECTION 9; The City Council has found and determined that it is
essential to the administration of justice in conformity with the constitutional
guarantee and right to effective assistance of counsel and persons who are
financially unable to employ counsel be provided same at the City's expense;
that the system of the Courts' assigning attorneys to represent indigent de-
fendants for little or no compensation is a severe burden on the attorneys of
the City; and many attorneys have not developed or maintained adequage ex-
pertise in the highly specialized field of criminal law to effectively represent
indigent defendants pursuant to the assigned counsel system; and that this
ordinance is immediately necessary to provide a sy4em for making effective
a system of counsel available to indigent defendants in the City in order to
assure the proper administration of justice, and to relieve attorneys of the
undue burden and indigent defendants of the potential handicap, which each
must bear under the assigned counsel system. THEREFORE, an emergency
is hereby declared to exist and this ordinance being necessary for +he imme-
diate preservation of the public peace, health and safety shall be in full
force and effect from and after its passage and approval.
APP R• ED:
ATTEST: 47714 rT�
/ ayor
&
Cit7g Jerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Ronald C. Mills, City Attorney