Assigned Counsel in Warren County is voluntary, although all attorneys are encouraged to participate. You have the choice of accepting criminal and/or Family Court cases or both.
Upon completion of an assigned case prior to the end of the fiscal year or if matter is still pending upon December 31st, whichever occurs first, a voucher for payment of legal fees and disbursements must be submitted in duplicate to the assigned justice for review and execution. Please request that the justice forward the vouchers to the attention of this office when he has completed his portion.
Please note that when submitting an interim (due by June 30th) or year-end voucher (due by December 31st) the disposition should reflect the status of the file at the time of voucher submission, "Interim or Year-End" should be entered in response to question #4. All services rendered up to and including the date of that voucher should be entered in response to Question #6. Please do not include two fiscal years on any one voucher. When your matter is completed, i.e. after final disposition, sentencing or when an order has been issued, a final voucher must be submitted for payment within forty-five (45) days. If you choose to recreate these vouchers as your own forms, please reproduce the contents exactly as presented herein.
If a voucher exceeds the statutory limits of $4,400.00 for Family Court and felony matters or $2,400.00 for misdemeanor matters then it must also be accompanied by an Affidavit in Support of Extraordinary Time. An example of a proposed Affidavit is attached hereto.
If you are new to the program, you will need to complete the Request for Vendor Number enclosed herewith. Your vendor number and any court tracking numbers must be entered on each of your vouchers. Also enclosed please find blank vouchers for both civil and criminal matters. For those of you whose payments will go to your employer, your employer's Federal ID number must be used, otherwise you will be charged with that taxable income.
The present hourly rate for Family Court matters is $75.00 per hour, felony matters $75.00 per hour and misdemeanor matters $60.00 per hour plus disbursements for mileage at the rate of .58¢ per mile, copies at .15¢ per page and postage at the current postal rate of .55¢. Disbursements in excess of $400.00 must be pre-approved by court order. Collect calls from clients are reimbursable only with the appropriate verification.
Time spent "In Court" should be claimed for actual arrival time at Court, time before the bench and/or time spent in conference with both the Judge and opposing counsel or Judge and District Attorney. Time spent "Out of Court" should be closely and carefully monitored to keep expenses down, for example thirty (30) minutes to open or close a file is excessive. Legal research is also closely monitored. If you should have questions about time spent in or out of court please stop in or contact this office or the County Attorney's Office. If more than one client is appearing in Court on any given day, total time spent must be divided proportionately, as well as mileage.
No initial support or support modification petitioners or respondents are eligible for assigned counsel. Only respondents in a support violation situation are eligible for assignment. If, during the pendency of your assignment, you become aware that your client's financial status has changed, please notify this office immediately and instruct your client to come to the office for re-assessment.
Many thanks for your continued support of the indigent in this county.
Julie Garcia
Administrator/Coordinator