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The court's written policy on requests for funds for experts and investigators in criminal cases: the Declaration/Request for Funds presented to the Supervising Criminal Judge - a Penal Code §987.9 request in a sealed envelope marked "Confidential" with the case name and number and the attorney's name and address; review by the Supervising Criminal Judge or a two-judge panel, no judge who considers a P.C. §987.9 request serving as trial judge, rulings in writing within seven (7) court days, or eight (8) court days after a panel review, without oral input unless a hearing is deemed necessary, and reconsideration on a supplemental declaration or an In-Camera Hearing; the Declaration on the Court's pre-approved form with a factual statement, the viable defenses, an itemization of anticipated expenditures, prior funding, counsel's status and any co-defendants, naming the person sought, the hourly rate, the hours and the function; investigators at no more than $50.00 per hour, medical and psychological forensic evaluation and consultation and pathology experts at no more than $250.00 per hour, accident reconstruction and other experts at no more than $200.00 per hour, out of court interpreters at $25.00 or $40.00 per hour, and out-of-state or out-of-county experts only on a showing; one Lead Counsel making the requests in multiple defendant cases; requests during trial to the Supervising Criminal Judge, or to the trial judge only in an emergency, and an oral declaration on the record in a closed proceeding with an Order submitted within one week; travel expenses, mileage within Stanislaus County not reimbursable, and the costs not allowed; subsequent requests covering the work done before; Fee Claims (the "Blue Claim") reviewed and initialed by assigned counsel and submitted within 30 days of the last service rendered or termination of the case, with the authorizing Order Form, to the Public Defender's Office, 1021 I Street, Suite 201, Modesto; and requests and bills kept confidential until 60 days after the conclusion of the case.
California > Fifth Appellate District > Stanislaus County > Superior Court of California, County of Stanislaus
Policy Re: Requests for Funds for Experts and Investigations 1. PRESENTATION OF REQUEST FOR FUNDS a. The Declaration/Request for Funds shall be presented to the Supervising Criminal Judge. If the request is made pursuant to Penal Code §987.9, it shall be presented in a sealed envelope on which is placed the name and number of the case and the attorney's name and address; the envelope shall be marked "Confidential" "Declaration/Request for Funds." 2. REVIEW PANEL AND PROCEDURE a. The Supervising Criminal Judge or his/her designee may act as a one-judge panel when he/she determines that a two-judge panel is not necessary for review. b. When a two-judge panel is needed to review Requests for Funds for experts and investigators, including Penal Code §987.9 requests, and Requests for Funds under Evidence Code §730 and §1017. The two-judge panel shall be composed of the Supervising Criminal Judge or his/her designee and one other judge from the Criminal Team selected by the Supervising Criminal Judge. c. No judge who considers a P.C. §987.9 request shall serve as trial judge in such case. Court file shall note which judges have reviewed fund requests so that no such judge will act as trial judge. d. All Requests will be ruled on in writing within seven (7) court days if acted upon by only the Supervising Criminal Judge, and within eight (8) court days if a panel review is deemed necessary. e. The approved or denied Order Form (Exhibit B) will be referred to the Court Supervisor/ Assistant Court Supervisor of the Criminal Division who will maintain the confidential file and distribute the approval or denial. f. All Requests for Funds will be considered without oral input from counsel/pro per defendant, except in those cases where the panel, within its discretion, deems it necessary to have a hearing with counsel/ pro per defendant present. g. If counsel objects to the ruling on a Request for Funds, he/she may request reconsideration by submitting supplemental written supporting declaration or requesting an In-Camera Hearing on the record. However an In-Camera Hearing will not be scheduled if the Court based its denial or modification on a need for more information. In such a case, the information must first be provided in writing or the Court must be provided with Points and Authorities supporting the applicant's position. h. Any Request that does not satisfy the guidelines set forth herein may be returned to counsel with or without instructions regarding corrections. 3. CONTENTS OF REQUEST FOR FUNDS a. The Declaration/Request for Funds shall be presented on a form pre-approved by the Court. The Declaration which shall contain the following information: i. A factual statement of the case from which the panel can evaluate and determine the reasonableness and necessity for the fund request; ii. A statement of the viable defenses that pertain to any requested funds; iii. A detailed itemization of anticipated expenditures; iv. The amount of prior funding authorized by the court, the purpose for which the funds were authorized with an itemization detailing how the funds were expended to date; and v. A statement that the attorney is retained, appointed by the court, a public defender, or that the defendant is pro per and/or indigent. vi. A statement whether there are co-defendant(s), and if so, the names of the co-defendant(s) and defense counsel. b. The Declaration must be candid and specific about the funds requested and the specific reasons therefore. The Declaration must include the name of the person sought, an hourly rate, the number of hours needed, and the specific function to be served. c. A sample Declaration/Request for Funds and Order Form is attached (see Exhibit A and B). 4. REQUEST FOR INVESTIGATORS AND FEES a. The Declaration must detail specifically what the investigator will do. General statements, such as "investigate the case" or "interview witnesses" are insufficient. If the investigator must travel, a detailed explanation of the reasons for the travel is required and why travel is preferable to hiring an investigator in the foreign area. b. Any in-court, during proceedings services must be specified and justified. c. Investigators are to perform only investigative services and are not to act as a legal runner, secretary or messenger. d. Fee for investigators shall not exceed $50.00 per hour. e. Counsel shall direct and monitor the work of the investigator to see his/her investigative time is reasonably necessary. 5. REQUEST FOR EXPERTS AND EXPERT FEES a. A complete description of the expert, his/her expertise, and his/her function shall be stated in the Declaration. There must be a rational justification for the type of expert based on the specific facts of the case. That justification must be set out in the Declaration and supported by Points and Authorities, if unusual. The Declaration shall include the hourly cost or other charge for the expert, and the number of hours contemplated for each specific service. b. The hourly rate paid for Medical and Psychological Forensic Evaluation and Consultation shall not exceed $250.00 per hour. The request for the above shall specify how much time will be spent on: • consultation, • file review, • in-court observing or assisting, • research, • interviews (specify name, location, purpose and anticipated length), and • testifying. Be as specific as possible as to why each needs to be done. c. The hourly rate for Accident Reconstruction and all other experts shall not exceed $200.00 per hour. The same specificity and justification indicated in "b" above shall be required for this section. d. The hourly rate for Pathology Experts shall not exceed $250.00. The same specificity and justification indicated in "b" above shall be required for this section. e. Request for Interpreters Used Out of Court i. The Declaration/Request for Funds must detail which persons need the use of an interpreter and the approximate length of time of the interview. ii. Non-certified and non-registered interpreters will be used unless circumstances warrant the use of certified and registered interpreters. The need for certified or registered interpreters must be set forth in the declaration. iii. Fees for interpreters shall be: Non-certified and Non-registered per hour $25.00 Certified and Registered per hour $40.00 iv. Mileage will be paid for out of county interpreters only. Mileage will be computed using the current Internal Revenue Service rate. Use of an out-of-county interpreters will be authorized only upon a showing that an in county resource was not available. v. Interpreters that are used during normal business hours (when accepting an appointment would deprive them of receiving the statutory per diem rate) will be paid as follows: Certified and Registered $286.82/full day or $159.08/half day Non-certified and Non-registered $175/full day or $92/half day The Declaration shall state why the interview must take place during normal business hours and that the interpreter would be foregoing court work in accepting the assignment. Interpreters employed by the court (Court Interpreter Pro Tem) receiving a per diem from the court may not charge an additional per diem or hourly rate when accepting an assignment during normal business hours. f. Upon extraordinary good cause being shown an increased fee for "b", "c", and "d" will be considered. g. The Courts will not fund "out of state" or "out of county" experts unless justification is shown as to why an instate or in-county expert is insufficient or unavailable. h. This policy does not replace the Fee Schedule for Psychiatric & Other Examinations. 6. MULTIPLE DEFENDANT CASES In cases in which there are two or more indigent defendants represented by different counsel, all counsel shall confer and designate one attorney to be "Lead Counsel" for fund request purposes. All requests for investigation or expert witness funds shall be made by lead counsel unless: a. Lead counsel refuses to do so. A detailed declaration stating the circumstances why Lead Counsel refuses to make the request shall accompany the declaration in support of the fund request. b. The requesting counsel establishes good cause in a detailed declaration stating why he/she did not ask Lead Counsel to make the fund request. A conclusionary statement stating only that it is a conflict of interest to ask lead counsel to make such requests will not be deemed good cause. Specific facts will be required. This declaration shall accompany the request for funds. c. All declarations for funds shall include a statement of whether there are co-defendants, and if so, are they joined for trial or elsewhere in the litigation proceedings. 7. REQUESTS DURING TRIAL a. An attorney/pro per defendant may make a request for investigative or expert fee funds during a trial. The request should be made to the Supervising Criminal Judge. However, in a non-death penalty case, the request may be made to the trial judge only if the need for funding is considered to be an emergency and the request cannot be made to the Supervising Criminal Judge due to time constraints. The trial judge shall not grant funding previously denied unless good cause has been shown. b. In any request to a trial judge, the attorney shall fully justify the need and shall inform the trial judge of all funds previously approved and/or denied. c. If time is of the essence, the attorney/pro per defendant may make an oral declaration on the record in a closed proceeding and the court will immediately make its decision on the record. In such a case, the attorney/pro per defendant shall submit an Order within one week. 8. TRAVEL EXPENSES a. The Declaration must detail the nature of the travel, why it is necessary, the number of persons making each trip, and the justification therefore. It shall include an explanation of why phone communications or someone in that locality cannot be utilized in lieu of a trip. b. Local mileage, defined as within Stanislaus County, is not reimbursable. c. Mileage outside Stanislaus County will be reimbursed at the current Internal Revenue Service rate for mileage. d. Alcohol or in-room movies or other incidentals will not be reimbursed. e. The County reimbursement rate for meals at the time the claim is submitted shall be the rate that will be used for meal reimbursement. 9. MISCELLANEOUS Miscellaneous expenses will not be funded unless approved in advance. 10. COSTS NOT ALLOWED a. Attending conventions, seminars or workshops. b. Cleaning charges. c. Cash or personal items for defendant. d. Items intended to improve defendant's personal appearance (e.g., haircuts, dental plates, cosmetics). e. General office expenses such as typing, paper, photocopying and telephone. f. Any expenditure not previously approved by the Supervising Criminal Judge or his/her designee. g. Charges for alcoholic beverages or in room movies. 11. SUBSEQUENT REQUESTS WHEN ORIGINAL APPROVAL WAS NOT SUFFICIENT When the original amount approved is insufficient, the subsequent Declaration must cover not only what is needed to be done, but what has been done previously. 12. SUBMISSION OF FEE CLAIM a. After the work is performed, the Fee Claim, also known as the "Blue Claim", (Exhibit D) must be submitted to assigned counsel for review, approval and initialing, then to the Public Defender's. The Fee Claim shall be submitted within 30 days following date of the last service rendered or termination of the case, whichever is later. Any late submissions may be denied. All Fee Claims must contain a detailed description of the work performed. Specifically, names of witnesses or contacts interviewed, as well as the location where and when the work was done, must be included. All billings must be sufficiently detailed to permit a reasonable audit on conclusion of the case. b. All Fee Claims for payment of court authorized experts/investigators shall be on a Blue Claim Form (Exhibit D) together with a declaration by counsel that he/she has reviewed the claim and that he/she approves or disapproves of the claim. Counsel shall specifically note any item in the claim of which he/she disapproves. c. A copy of the Order Form (Exhibit B) authorizing such expenditures shall be presented with the claim. d. Form copies of the Declaration/Request for Funds and Order Form (Exhibit A & B), the Time Sheet (Exhibit C), Fee Claim (Exhibit D), and the Blue Claim Form (Exhibit E) are attached. e. All Fee Claims for payment shall be delivered to the Public Defender's Office, 1021 I Street, Suite 201, Modesto, CA 95354. 13. CONFIDENTIALITY The Court will treat all requests and bills as confidential until 60 days after the conclusion of the case. The County Auditor will only receive page 4 of the Declaration/Request for Funds and Order Form, and the Blue Claim, not the detailed Fee Claim (Exhibit D), prior to conclusion of the case. During this time, all such records will be maintained in a locked file. Sixty (60) days after the conclusion of the case, all records will be subject to inspection or audit by anyone authorized by the Court or the County Auditor.
Policy Re: Requests for Funds for Experts and Investigations 1. PRESENTATION OF REQUEST FOR FUNDS a. The Declaration/Request for Funds shall be presented to the Supervising Criminal Judge. If the request is made pursuant to Penal Code §987.9, it shall be presented in a sealed envelope on which is placed the name and number of the case and the attorney's name and address; the envelope shall be mark
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-14 (California T4 Stanislaus build 2026-10-14) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-stanislaus/docs/forms-and-filings/987-packet-rev-05-2026.pdf (565227 bytes, sha256 9ebc58a80b8cf833ceab8003f7987f5e0a9e22e03960a93afa3b311ad027e3d0; 14 pages; a printed text layer) with the shared verbatim composer (v2 reflow): its pages 1 to 7, the policy, composed (pages 8 to 14 are its exhibits - the Declaration/Request for Funds and Order Form, the order form, the time sheet and the county's blue claim - forms); each page's footer (the edition “Rev. 05/2026”, named, and the page number) removed as chrome - 14 chrome lines; 2 whitespace-only fixes (build/doc-fixes.json: section 5(e)'s two interpreter fee lists, whose two rows each the reflow ran together, split); proof 1 (whitespace-only) and proof 2 (same character multiset as the text layer minus chrome) pass. Review note: Rule 4.17 (carded with Rule 4, part one) requires applications for experts and investigators to follow “the established written policies and procedures on file with the Clerk of the Court” - this policy. The card carries the policy's pages 1 to 7; its exhibits (the Declaration/Request for Funds and Order Form, the order form, the time sheet and the county's blue claim) are forms. An earlier edition the Spanish forms page links is held.
9 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1997-10.
6 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1997-13.