Loading…
Rule 19 (Rules 19.1 to 19.6): the Presiding Judge’s general responsibilities, authority (to assign judges to departments, apportion the business of the court and authorize and direct expenditures from the Trial Court Operating Fund, among others) and duties, no local rule or policy may limit that authority, and delegation to another judge or to the Court Executive Office (19.1); the Court Executive Officer recording judicial officer time off, a day of vacation a pre-approved absence for one full normal scheduled court business day, 24 days for judges with less than 7 years of service, 27 days for judges with “at least 7 but not less than 14 years of service” and 30 days with 14 or more years, new judges prorated by the month of the oath of office, no more than 30 vacation days carried forward (California Rules of Court, Rule 10.603(c)(2)(G)), and 2 personal leave days each January 1 (19.2); ancillary defense expenses for indigent defendants only on prior Court order, applied for by ex parte motion with a declaration marked “Confidential” of the circumstances, the status of the case, the purpose and each service provider’s rate, the Court to determine the reasonableness and necessity of travel expenses on a case-by-case basis at the current federal mileage reimbursement rate, no funds for overnight travel without prior court approval, an initial written report for medical and mental health experts (the declaration to explain in detail why local experts could not be employed when the expert is located more than 175 miles from the court), a supplemental funding request, and claims submitted via mail to the Administrative Services Department at 2610 Riverside Drive or by email to AdministrativeServices@lassencourt.ca.gov (19.3); appointed attorney fees - for private appointed conflict public defenders $125.00 per hour for First Degree Murder defense, $115.00 for “Three Strike” (25 to Life) defense, $100.00 for all other Felony defense and $90.00 for juvenile delinquency, misdemeanor, writs, civil contempt, misdemeanor appeals and CARE Court, with the guidance of Penal Code § 987.2, a COUNTY fee claim monthly, and mileage and up to 2 hours of travel time for travel over 50 miles one way, $115.00 per hour for counsel in juvenile dependency proceedings on a COURT fee claim, Sixty-Five Dollars ($65) per hour for indigent defense investigators, and $200 per day for counsel at the criminal arraignment calendars, who are expected to arrive at the Lassen County Adult Detention Facility (ADF) no less than 30 minutes before the start of the calendar (19.4); for Department 5 prison defense counsel $150.00, $125.00 and $115.00 per hour and investigator fees of $65.00 per hour, billing in 0.1 hour increments with multiple cases apportioned and no per diem billing, the billable and non-billable activities, and claims submitted in time for the six-month deadline of PC § 4750(j) (19.4.1); the Clerk of the Court or Clerk’s Designee appointed as an elisor, on ex parte application, to sign a document one of the parties will not or cannot execute (19.5); and the Clerk authorized to establish payment plans for outstanding fines and fees in adjudicated cases, multiple cases consolidated into a single payment plan, payments made consecutively, cases prioritized to pay Victim Restitution before any remaining outstanding fines and fees (19.6).
RULE OF COURT NO. 19 GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE These rules detail certain general, procedural, judicial, and administrative rules of the Lassen Superior Court. 19.1 AUTHORITY AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDING JUDGE. General responsibilities. With the assistance of the Court Executive Officer, the Presiding Judge is responsible for leading the court, establishing policies, and allocating resources in a
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-12 (California T4 Lassen build 2026-10-12) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-lassen/docs/local-rules/local-rules-court-effective-july-1-2026.pdf (the court's rule book, its cover “SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF LASSEN LOCAL RULES OF COURT Effective July 1, 2026”, as fetched 2026-10-12; 902440 bytes, sha256 b04136070555eb679f27e6020412087f261a95fe203b285fa7225070791bc2b4; 112 pages; this rule PDF pages 88 to 100, printed pages 88 to 100) with the shared verbatim composer (v2 reflow): the rules (PDF pages 5 to 100, printed 5 to 100) composed as one text and cut at the nineteen headings “RULE OF COURT NO. 1” to “RULE OF COURT NO. 19”, each matched once as a whole line (a rule may begin mid-page); the running header of every page (“Superior Court of California, County of Lassen”) and its running footer (“Local Rules of Court”, “Rev. 7/1/26”, “www.Lassen.Courts.CA.gov” and the page number), each named and a whole line in its band, removed as chrome - 480 chrome lines; lines reflowed into the rules' paragraphs, each rule's heading and title, each numbered rule (“6.1 TELEPHONIC APPEARANCE RULE.”), each lettered or numbered subdivision starting a line, a line in capitals ending its paragraph, and each history line (“(Effective ...)”) on a line of its own; the strike report (review/strike-report-2026-10-12.txt) finds no struck run on the book's 112 pages; no table on the rule pages; 9 whitespace-only fixes (build/book-fixes.json: Rule 1's “At-Issue” / “Memorandum” sentence rejoined; Rule 7(B)'s excepted case types set row by row, their cells left to right; Rule 15.7(c)'s complaint addresses and Rule 19.3(g)'s claims address each set one printed line to a line; two pairs of Rule 19.4(a)'s fee lines set apart); the vertical-gap, short-line, page-break, bold, false-break, fragment and row audits (custody file book_extra_audits.py; review/book-extra-audits-2026-10-12.txt and review/book-audits-after-fixes-2026-10-12.txt) list candidates read one by one (build/book_fixes.py) - the rest kept as printed (list items without closing punctuation, the run-in bold headings of Rule 19.4(b) and (d), the “OR” lines between alternatives); proof 1 (whitespace-only) and proof 2 (same character multiset as the text layer minus chrome) pass. The cover (PDF page 1), the table of contents (2 to 4), the alphabetical subject index (101 to 110) and the two appendices of local forms (111 and 112) belong to no card. Review note: Carried as printed: Rule 19.1 delegates a duty that does not require judicial authority “to the Court Executive Office”; Rule 19.2(a)(ii) gives 27 days “for judges with at least 7 but not less than 14 years of service”; Rule 19.3(e) “may not be paid by the Court prior Court approval”; Rule 19.3(b) and (f) refer to “subsection C”, Rule 19.3’s subsection (c).
Division XI: information forms for data processing (Rule 11.2); required action - action taken on all calendared cases and a future date always set (Rule 11.19); and pro tem judges - an attorney named as a plaintiff in a civil or small claims case may not sit as a judge pro-tem during the case or within six months following its resolution, nor one named as a defendant in two or more such cases (Rule 11.22). Rules 11.1, 11.3 to 11.5, 11.7 to 11.18, 11.20 and 11.21 are repealed, and Rule 11.6 (voluntary arbitration; see Local Rule 10.2) was repealed and renumbered.
California > Third Appellate District > Lassen County > Superior Court of California, County of Lassen
RULE OF COURT NO. 19 GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE These rules detail certain general, procedural, judicial, and administrative rules of the Lassen Superior Court. 19.1 AUTHORITY AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDING JUDGE. General responsibilities. With the assistance of the Court Executive Officer, the Presiding Judge is responsible for leading the court, establishing policies, and allocating resources in a manner that promotes access to justice for all members of the public, provides a forum for the fair and expeditious resolution of disputes, maximizes the uses of judicial and other resources, increases efficiency in court operations, and enhances service to the public. The Presiding Judge is responsible for: (a) Ensuring the effective management and administration of the court, consistent with any rules, policies, strategic plan, or budget adopted by the Judicial Council or the court; (b) Ensuring that the duties of all judges specified under California Rules of Court, Rule 10.608 are timely and orderly performed; and (c) Ensuring that the court has adopted written policies and procedures allowing the Presiding Judge to perform efficiently the administrative duties of that office. Authority. The Presiding Judge has the authority to: (a) Assign judges to departments and designate supervising judges for divisions, districts, or branch courts; (b) Apportion the business of the court, including assigning and reassigning cases to departments; (c) Call meetings of the judges; (d) Appoint standing and special committees of judges; (e) Act as the spokesperson for the court; (f) Authorize and direct expenditures from the court’s Trial Court Operating Fund; and (g) Perform all acts necessary to accomplish the duties specified by the rules of court. No local rule or policy may limit the authority of the Presiding Judge as granted in the Rules of Court. Duties. The Presiding Judge has the duty to: (h) Make all judicial assignments; (i) Adopt a process for judicial schedules; (j) Supervise and monitor submitted cases; (k) Provide oversight of judicial officers; (l) Provide general direction and supervisions of the Court Executive Officer; (m) Engage in budget and financial management; (n) Schedule and assign judicial meetings and committees; (o) Act as liaison; (p) Participate in court planning; (q) Ensure that appellate records are prepared timely; and (r) Prepare local rules. Delegation. The Presiding Judge may delegate any of the specific duties listed in this rule to another judge, or if the duty does not require the exercise of judicial authority, to the Court Executive Office. (Effective 7/1/24) 19.2 JUDICIAL TIME OFF. The Court Executive Officer is designated as the responsible party for recording judicial officer time off. The Court Executive Officer shall inform the Presiding Judge of any time off conflicts or scheduled time off that is inconsistent with the orderly operation of the court. (a) Vacation. A day of vacation for a judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Lassen, is a pre-approved absence from the court for one full normal scheduled court business day. The performance by a judge of a judicial duty taking two hours or less on a pre-approved vacation day does not entitle the judge to an additional day of vacation. Other absences from the court listed in California Rules of Court, Rule 10.603(c)(2)(H) are excluded from this definition. The total number of vacation days allowable pursuant to California Rules of Court, Rule 10.603(c)(2)(E) will be determined on January 1 of the year in which the vacation is given. Judges who reach milestones in their years of service will receive their additional vacation days as of January 1 of each calendar year. (Example: Where the 14-year anniversary falls on August 7, 2023, thirty days of vacation would be allowed effective January 1, 2024.) Vacation will be determined as follows: (i) 24 days for judges with less than 7 years of service as a California judge; (ii) 27 days for judges with at least 7 but not less than 14 years of service as a California judge; and (iii) 30 days for judges with 14 or more years of service as a California judge. Retiring judges will be prorated according to the month in which they retire. New judges will be prorated according to the month in which the oath of office was taken, determined as follows: January, 24 days; February, 22 days; March, 20 days; April, 18 days; May, 16 days; June, 14 days; July, 12 days; August, 10 days; September, 8 days; October, 6 days; November, 4 days; and December, 2 days. Pursuant to California Rules of Court, Rule 10.603(c)(2)(G) a judge may not carry forward more than 30 vacation days from year to year. (b) Personal time. Each judge will receive 2 personal leave days on January 1 of each year. Personal leave days may not be carried forward into the next year. (Effective 7/1/24) 19.3 ANCILLARY CRIMINAL DEFENSE EXPENSES. Ancillary Services. The right to ancillary services arises only when an indigent defendant demonstrates that funds are “reasonably necessary” for his or her defense. (Corenevsky v Superior Court (1984) 23 C3d 307) (a) Scope. This rule establishes the requirements for the payment of reasonably necessary expenses that appointed counsel and self-represented litigants incur in defending persons who are indigent. This rule will refer to these reasonably necessary expenses as “ancillary defense expenses.” All funds expended for ancillary defense expenses must have prior approval by Court order. Funds approved for specific purpose, moreover, may not be expended for another use without prior Court approval. (b) Required Submission. All initial applications for the authorization of ancillary defense expenses shall be submitted by ex parte motion to the judicial officer assigned to the case. The application shall be accompanied by a declaration with the information described in subsection C below. The application and supporting declarations shall be marked “Confidential,” and shall be kept in a confidential section of the court file. (c) Required Declaration. All applications for ancillary defense expenses shall be supported by a declaration setting forth: (i) A summary of the circumstances of the charged offense or facts that demonstrate why funding of ancillary defense expenses is necessary in the interests of justice; (ii) The status of the case; (iii) The specific purpose for the funds, including the nature of the services to be rendered and an explanation why those services are reasonably necessary for the defense of the case; and (iv) The name and title of each appointed service provider (investigator, expert, or other) for whom funds are being sought, the hourly rate and maximum amount expected to be charged for the service, travel-related expenses other than mileage, and any other special expenses. (v) Counsel and self-represented defendants seeking the services of multiple experts relating to a single or common issue must demonstrate a compelling necessity for such use of multiple experts. In addition, counsel and self-represented defendants must include in the request for reimbursement a representation that the rate requested: a. does not exceed the investigator’s or expert’s customary rates for services performed, and b. does not exceed local prevailing rates for the services performed. If a self-represented defendant has not suggested a particular investigator, the Court will select one. The maximum hourly billing rates, as well as the maximum initial authorizations, for all investigators and legal runners shall be set by the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court. Legal runner services, when approved by the Court, are limited to photocopying, and transporting materials, orders, and motions. Visits and phone calls to the County’s detention centers must be associated with an allowable billable activity and will be subject to the Court’s discretion. (d) Travel Expenses. The Court will determine the reasonableness and necessity of travel expenses on a case-by-case basis. Travel expenses are not considered necessary when the purpose of the trip may reasonably be accomplished in another way, such as by video meeting, telephone, or correspondence. Further, counsel should use the least expensive alternative means of travel. For motor vehicles, the mileage rate is the current federal mileage reimbursement rate established by the IRS that corresponds to the dates of travel. (i) No funds may be expended for overnight travel by investigators, experts, or others without prior court approval. Pre-approved hourly investigation expenses may not be applied to overnight or airline travel costs unless expressly designated by the Court for travel after an appropriate request. (ii) Applications that include a request for travel expenses to interview witnesses must contain, in addition to the requirements above, a declaration setting forth: a. The relevance and materiality of the witness’ proposed testimony; b. An explanation as to why a telephone interview or an interview conducted remotely would not suffice; c. An explanation as to why it would not be practical to utilize the services of an investigator in the area where the witness lives; d. Whether it would be feasible to fly the witness to the Reno-Tahoe International Airport for an interview, with a return flight the same day, to avoid the expense of overnight travel for the investigator; and e. A representation that the applicant has endeavored to secure the lowest possible airfare. When travel is required by appointed counsel or a person authorized to assist appointed counsel, reasonable and necessary meals and lodging may be claimed. No funds may be expended for travel nor per diem without prior approval from the Court. (e) Expenses for Medical and Mental Health Professionals. On initial applications requesting authorization for expenses for doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, and similar experts, the maximum amount allowed by the court will be an amount sufficient to procure an initial written report from the expert. This report should describe the need, if any, for further services at an approved rate. The defense must endeavor to negotiate the lowest hourly rate. If the defense retains an expert located more than 175 miles from the Lassen Superior Court, the declaration shall explain in detail why local experts could not be employed to provide similar services. Expenses for supplemental reports by experts or investigators may not be paid by the Court prior Court approval. (f) Additional Funding. After the initial funding approved by declaration described in subsection C above has been exhausted, no additional work may be performed or compensated without first obtaining Court approval by submitting a supplemental funding request under this subsection. Each application for additional funding for a previously authorized service provider (investigator, expert, or other) shall state, in the heading of the pleading, that it is a supplemental request, and shall include a declaration setting forth: (i) The date and amount of previous funding authorizations for the service provider; (ii) The amount of any billings for services completed by the service provider and a general summary of those completed services; (iii) The remaining balance from funds previously authorized for the service provider; (iv) A detailed description of the services remaining to be performed. Any additional request for the services of an expert must be accompanied by a report or declaration of the expert explaining the need for additional services. (g) Claims for the Payment of Ancillary Defense Expenses. Claims for the payment of ancillary defense expenses must have prior Court authorization as described above; without prior authorization, claims will not be paid. Claims for payment of ancillary defense expenses shall be submitted via mail to: Lassen Superior Court Attn: Administrative Services Department 2610 Riverside Drive Susanville, California 96130 or by email to AdministrativeServices@lassencourt.ca.gov. Claims shall comply with the requirements as detailed in this rule or as otherwise determined by the Presiding Judge, including any requirements for supporting documents. (Effective 7/1/24, as amended 1/1/26) 19.4 APPOINTED ATTORNEY FEES. This rule governs all appointed attorney fees, except for those related to Department 5, Prison Appointed Attorney Fees. For supplemental fees, rules, and procedures specific to Department 5, refer to Rule 19.4.1 (a) Fees for Private Appointed Conflict Public Defenders. Private appointed indigent criminal defense and juvenile counsel assigned by the Lassen Superior Court for matters other than criminal arraignments shall be compensated as follows: For First Degree Murder defense: $125.00 per hour For “Three Strike” (25 to Life) defense: $115.00 per hour For all other Felony defense: $100.00 per hour For all Juvenile Delinquency defense: $90.00 per hour For all Misdemeanor defense: $90.00 per hour For Writs: $90.00 per hour For Civil Contempt: $90.00 per hour For Misdemeanor Appeals: $90.00 per hour For CARE Court: $90.00 per hour All counsel submitting fee claims shall give due regard in computing the time and amount thereof to the guidance of Penal Code § 987.2, where it is provided that an assigned attorney “… shall receive a reasonable sum for compensation and for necessary expenses, the amount of which shall be determined by the court…” Counsel accepting appointment under this rule shall do so with a clear understanding that the court will make an independent determination of the necessity and justification for hours spent; and may reduce a claim for hours or travel found not to be reasonably necessary for the representation of the defendant or spent on unfounded motions or procedures. In reviewing fee claims, the court will consider the time spent and amount claimed with reference to the following: (i) Customary fees in the locality. (ii) Time reasonably required for the matter. (iii) Difficulty of the defense. (iv) Unusual legal issues dealt with. (v) Degree of professional skill and experience required and exercised by counsel. (vi) The professional character, qualification, and standing of the attorney. Assigned counsel shall submit a COUNTY fee claim with all required supporting information on a monthly basis during the course of the representation. Assigned counsel traveling over 50 miles one way from their primary business office or residence for an in-person appearance may claim mileage reimbursement for the round-trip distance at the current federal mileage rate and up to 2 hours of total travel time per travel occurrence, at the applicable defense rate for the case type of the appointment. Travel time compensation is capped at 2 hours per day and cannot be billed separately for each case. (b) Fees for Counsel Appointed to Represent Indigent Parties in Juvenile Dependency Proceedings. Court-appointed counsel, other than counsel employed by a public entity, for a parent or minor in any juvenile dependency proceeding shall be compensated as follows: $115.00 per hour Counsel accepting appointments in a juvenile dependency proceeding shall be in compliance with the Juvenile Dependency rules outlined in Rule 3 of the Local Rules of Court. Counsel accepting appointments under this rule shall do so with a clear understanding that the court will make an independent determination of the necessity and justification for hours spent and may reduce a claim for hours or travel found not to be necessary for the purpose of the appointment or spent on unfounded motions or procedures. In reviewing fee claims, the court will consider the time spent and amount claimed with reference to the following: (i) Customary fees in the locality. (ii) Time reasonably required for the matter. (iii) Difficulty of the defense. (iv) Unusual legal issues dealt with. (v) Degree of professional skill and experience required and exercised by counsel. (vi) The professional character, qualification, and standing of the attorney. Assigned counsel shall submit a COURT fee claim upon a form provided for that purpose by the Court, with all information requested thereon. Incremental billing on a monthly or quarterly basis following completion of services is preferred. Assigned counsel traveling over 50 miles one way from their primary business office or residence for an in-person appearance may claim mileage reimbursement for the round-trip distance at the current federal mileage rate and up to 2 hours of total travel time per travel occurrence, at the applicable defense rate for the case type of the appointment. Travel time compensation is capped at 2 hours per day and cannot be billed separately for each case. (c) Fees for Private Court Appointed Indigent Defense Investigators. The hourly rate the Lassen County Public Defender pays when contracting for investigative services is Sixty-Five Dollars ($65) per hour. Investigative services for indigent defense rendered pursuant to court authorization by the Lassen County Superior Court shall be compensated at the rate of Sixty-Five Dollars ($65) per hour. Persons accepting assignments under this rule shall do so with the clear understanding that the court will make an independent determination of the justification and necessity for the hours spent and may reduce a claim for hours found not to be reasonably necessary for the purpose of the assignment. Indigent defense investigators shall submit a fee claim on a form provided for that purpose by the Court Administrator, with the signature of the attorney retaining the services attesting to the validity of the claim, and with all information requested thereon, only upon completion of the investigation, unless prior court authorization for an incremental billing is obtained by the attorney on behalf of the investigator for good cause. (d) Fees for Private Appointed Conflict Public Defenders in Criminal Arraignments. Private appointed indigent criminal defense counsel assigned by the Lassen Superior Court for representation during the criminal arraignment calendars shall be compensated as follows: $200 per day Appointed counsel is expected to arrive at the Lassen County Adult Detention Facility (ADF) prior to the scheduled arraignment calendar with adequate time to meet with all indigent defendants, but no less than 30 minutes before the start of the calendar. If appointed counsel is unable to be physically present at the ADF, remote appearance may be permitted for both pre-arraignment meetings with indigent defendants and during arraignment proceedings, subject to prior approval and coordination with the Court and ADF. Assigned counsel shall submit a COUNTY fee claim with all required supporting information on a monthly basis during the course of the representation. Assigned counsel traveling over 50 miles one way from their primary business office or residence for an in-person appearance may claim mileage reimbursement for the round-trip distance at the current federal mileage rate and up to 2 hours of total travel time per travel occurrence, at the applicable defense rate for the case type of the appointment. Travel time compensation is capped at 2 hours per day and cannot be billed separately for each case. (Effective 7/1/24, amended 1/1/25, 7/1/25, 7/1/26) 19.4.1 PRISON APPOINTED ATTORNEY FEES SUPPLEMENT. This rule serves as a supplement applicable to Prison Appointed Attorney Fees in Department 5. Any matters not addressed within this supplement will defer to the relevant provisions in other established rules. (a) Fees for Private Appointed Prison Defense Counsel. Private appointed indigent criminal defense assigned by the Lassen Superior Court for Prison Defense Counsel within Department 5 shall be compensated as follows: For First Degree Murder defense: $150.00 per hour For “Three Strike” (25 to Life) defense: $125.00 per hour For all other Felony defense: $115.00 per hour For Investigator Fees: $65.00 per hour For Travel: Assigned counsel traveling over 50 miles one way from their primary business office or residence for an in-person appearance may claim mileage reimbursement for the round-trip distance at the current federal mileage rate and up to 2 hours of total travel time per travel occurrence, at the applicable defense rate for the case type of the appointment. Travel time compensation is capped at 2 hours per day and cannot be billed separately for each case. (b) Guidelines for Billing Purposes. The purpose of these guidelines is to promote uniformity in billing. The guidelines cannot address all situations. The basic principles of billing are: (i) Billing for actual time spent (ii) Efficient work (iii) Detailed explanations for work performed Receipts are required for reimbursable expenses. Multiple cases on calendar shall be apportioned, including wait times between and amongst the cases. Per diem billing is no longer accepted. The apportionment of time includes cases where the defendant has more than one case on calendar. Attorney billing shall account for time in 0.1 hour increments. (c) Billable and Non-Billable Activities: 1. Billable Activities: (i) Services performed while Court is in session or in chambers. This includes time waiting for a case to be called. (ii) Any out of court activities reasonably required to represent a client. (iii) Travel time to and from an institutional facility housing your client for the purposes of visiting said client. (iv) Time to review notes or summaries of a client’s case in preparation for court dates will be compensated so long as an adequate description is provided of the work and its relation to the court date. ‘File review’ as a description when billing is inadequate. Counsel accepting appointment under this rule shall do so with clear understanding that the court will make an independent determination of the necessity and justification for hours spent; and may reduce a claim for hours found not to be reasonably necessary for the representation of the defendant or spent on unfounded motions or procedures. The Court reserves the right to review and adjust payment for any billed service or expense determined to be unreasonable or unnecessary. 2. Non-Billable Activities: (i) Clerical and support staff including preparing proofs of service; faxing; and filing, copying or preparations of billings. The Court considers these costs overhead costs. (ii) Service of documents and subpoenas on the District Attorney, Public Defender or any other attorney or agency that accepts service by fax, mail or email. (iii) File maintenance: Opening, labeling and storing a client’s file. Some file related activities such as breaking down discovery and exhibits and creating trial notebooks are billable so long as the activities are specifically described. (d) Deadline for Filing Claims by Appointed Prison Defense Counsel. The State Controller’s Office (SCO) Penal Code Section 4750 Manual states in part, regarding deadlines for submitting claims for reimbursement of prison defense costs, “Claimants have six months after the close of the month in which the costs were incurred (PC § 4750(j)) to file a claim. Claims filed after the six-month deadline will not be reimbursed by SCO.” PC § 4750(j) states: “No city, county, or other jurisdiction may file, and the state may not reimburse, a claim pursuant to this section that is presented to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or to any other agency or department of the state more than six months after the close of the month in which the costs were incurred.” With this, the Court requires timely submission of all prison defense related claims. Any claims submitted outside of a timeframe sufficient for the claims to be forwarded to the County for filing with the SCO within the deadlines established in PC § 4750 will not be processed by the Court. (Effective 1/1/25) 19.5 ELISORS. Where one of the parties will not or cannot execute a document necessary to carry out a court order, the Clerk of the Court, or his or her authorized representative or designee may be appointed as an elisor to sign the document. An application for appointment of an elisor may be made ex parte. When applying for an appointment of an elisor, the application and proposed order must designate “The Clerk of the Court or Clerk’s Designee” as the elisor and specifically name the parties for whom the elisor is being appointed and in what capacity they are to sign the document. The application must not set forth a specific court employee. The order must expressly identify the document(s) being signed and a copy of the document must be attached to the proposed order. The original document, presented for signature by the elisor, must match the copy of the document attached to the proposed order. The declaration supporting the application must include specific facts establishing the necessity for the appointment of the elisor. If the elisor is signing documents requiring notarization, the applicant must arrange for a notary public to be present when the elisor signs the document(s). (Effective 7/1/24) 19.6 PAYMENT PLANS FOR OUTSTANDING FINES AND FEES. (a) Authority to Establish Payment Plans. The Clerk of the Court, or his or her authorized representative or designee, including but not limited to Collections department staff, is authorized to review, negotiate terms, and establish payment plans with any debtor for outstanding fines and/or fees in an adjudicated case. (b) Payment Plans in Adjudicated Criminal and Traffic Cases. In any criminal or traffic case where the charges have been previously adjudicated, the Clerk of the Court, or his or her authorized representative or designee, including but not limited to Collections department staff may review outstanding court-ordered fines and fees and place the defendant on a payment plan. Defendants with multiple adjudicated cases may request that outstanding fines and fees from multiple cases be consolidated into a single payment plan, wherein payments will be made consecutively. Defendants with multiple adjudicated cases with outstanding fines and fees from multiple cases will be placed on a consolidated single payment plan, wherein payments will be made consecutively. Cases will be prioritized to pay Victim Restitution before any remaining outstanding fines and fees, then by case age. (Effective 1/1/25, as amended 1/1/26)
Duval County's indigent-defense and magistration rules under the Texas Fair Defense Act (S.B. 7): who may be booked into the county jail and on what paper; arrest-case numbering; presentment to a magistrate within 48 hours (art. 15.16); the magistrate's warnings, counsel inquiry, interpreter duty, indigence determination and appointment of counsel within 24 hours of a request; the alternative appointment plan under art. 26.04(g)-(h) with annual applications, seven attorney categories (capital, first and second degree, third degree/state jail/misdemeanor, competency, appeals, post-conviction, extradition), CLE and experience standards, random rotation within each category, written acceptance within 48 hours, first contact by the end of the next working day, replacement and suspension of counsel, fee applications within five days of completing services and the compensation attachment ($500 pleas; $175/$150 hourly; $1,400 per jury-trial day; appellate caps); bail schedules by offense class with a personal bond office (fee $20 or 3%), pre-trial supervision and revocation hearings within two working days; arraignment settings and notice; repeal of conflicting rules.