1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to public defense; requiring private counsel 
  1.3             who have been retained for appeal or postconviction 
  1.4             matters to make arrangements with the state public 
  1.5             defender before funding may be used for transcript 
  1.6             fees; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 
  1.7             486.06; 611.25, subdivision 1; and 611.27, subdivision 
  1.8             15, and by adding a subdivision. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 486.06, is 
  1.11  amended to read: 
  1.12     486.06 [CHARGE FOR TRANSCRIPT.] 
  1.13     In addition to the salary set in section 486.05, the court 
  1.14  reporter may charge a fee for a transcript of a record ordered 
  1.15  by any person other than the judge 50 cents per original folio 
  1.16  thereof and ten cents per folio for each manifold or other copy 
  1.17  thereof when so ordered that it can be made with the original 
  1.18  transcript.  The chief judge of the judicial district may by 
  1.19  order establish new transcript fee ceilings annually. 
  1.20     A court reporter may impose a fee authorized under this 
  1.21  section only if the transcript is delivered to the person who 
  1.22  ordered it within a reasonable time after it was ordered. 
  1.23     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 611.25, 
  1.24  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.25     Subdivision 1.  [REPRESENTATION.] (a) The state public 
  1.26  defender shall represent, without charge: 
  1.27     (1) a defendant or other person appealing from a conviction 
  2.1   of a felony or gross misdemeanor; 
  2.2      (2) a person convicted of a felony or gross misdemeanor who 
  2.3   is pursuing a postconviction proceeding and who has not already 
  2.4   had a direct appeal of the conviction; and 
  2.5      (3) a child who is appealing from a delinquency 
  2.6   adjudication or from an extended jurisdiction juvenile 
  2.7   conviction. 
  2.8      (b) The state public defender may represent, without 
  2.9   charge, all other persons pursuing a postconviction remedy under 
  2.10  section 590.01, who are financially unable to obtain counsel.  
  2.11     (c) The state public defender shall represent any other 
  2.12  person, who is financially unable to obtain counsel, when 
  2.13  directed to do so by the supreme court or the court of appeals, 
  2.14  except that:  (i) the state public defender shall not represent 
  2.15  a person in any action or proceeding in which a party is seeking 
  2.16  a monetary judgment, recovery or award; and (ii) the supreme 
  2.17  court or the court of appeals may not order the state public 
  2.18  defender to pay for transcripts or any other expenses for 
  2.19  persons who are represented in an appeal or postconviction case 
  2.20  by privately retained counsel, unless the privately retained 
  2.21  counsel is providing legal services without charge, by 
  2.22  arrangement with and the approval of the state public defender.  
  2.23  When requested by a district public defender or appointed 
  2.24  counsel, the state public defender may assist the district 
  2.25  public defender, appointed counsel, or an organization 
  2.26  designated in section 611.216 in the performance of duties, 
  2.27  including trial representation in matters involving legal 
  2.28  conflicts of interest or other special circumstances, and 
  2.29  assistance with legal research and brief preparation.  When the 
  2.30  state public defender is directed by a court to represent a 
  2.31  defendant or other person, the state public defender may assign 
  2.32  the representation to any district public defender. 
  2.33     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 611.27, 
  2.34  subdivision 15, is amended to read: 
  2.35     Subd. 15.  [COSTS OF TRANSCRIPTS.] In appeal cases and 
  2.36  postconviction cases where the state public defender's office 
  3.1   does not have sufficient funds to pay for transcripts and other 
  3.2   necessary expenses because it has spent or committed all of the 
  3.3   transcript funds in its annual budget, the state public defender 
  3.4   may forward to the commissioner of finance all billings for 
  3.5   transcripts and other necessary expenses.  The commissioner 
  3.6   shall pay for these transcripts and other necessary expenses 
  3.7   from county criminal justice aid retained by the commissioner of 
  3.8   revenue under section 477A.0121, subdivision 4. 
  3.9      The state board of public defense shall, by September 1 of 
  3.10  each even-numbered year, certify to the commissioner of finance 
  3.11  the amount of money that the state public defender's office has 
  3.12  spent on transcripts for appellate and postconviction cases in 
  3.13  each fiscal year.  In preparing the next biennial budget, the 
  3.14  commissioner of finance shall make a base budget adjustment for 
  3.15  the state public defender's office for the increase in the cost 
  3.16  of trial transcripts ordered by that office which is caused by 
  3.17  the increase in transcript fees authorized by the chief judge of 
  3.18  a judicial district under section 486.06.  
  3.19     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 611.27, is 
  3.20  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.21     Subd. 16.  [COSTS OF TRANSCRIPTS FOR INDIGENT DEFENDANTS 
  3.22  REPRESENTED BY PRIVATE COUNSEL.] In appeal cases and 
  3.23  postconviction cases where the defendant is indigent but is 
  3.24  represented by private counsel and is not represented by the 
  3.25  state public defender's office, the supreme court or the court 
  3.26  of appeals may not order the state public defender's office to 
  3.27  pay for the costs of transcripts or any other expenses related 
  3.28  to that defendant's appeal or postconviction case, unless the 
  3.29  privately retained counsel is providing legal services without 
  3.30  charge, by arrangement with and the approval of the state public 
  3.31  defender.