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The district judges' felony indigent-defense plan, binding every attorney certified for felony appointments: the county Office of Court Administration manages the entire appointment system through the Fair Indigent Defense Online (FIDO) system — the ONLY method to determine indigence, appoint attorneys, and submit/approve/pay vouchers; magistration within 48 hours of arrest (Art. 15.17) with probable-cause forms at booking for warrantless arrests, interpreter compliance (Arts. 38.30/38.31), an assigned defense attorney PRESENT at magistration and bail review (limited-scope appointment ending with the 15.17 hearing, no withdrawal motion needed), next-working-day bail re-hearings on request, 24-hour transmittal of counsel requests, one-working-day appointment deadlines, and out-of-county warrant mechanics (transmittal to the issuing county within 24 hours; counsel appointed here if still in custody on the 11th day after arrest on another county's warrant); indigence standards (net household income ≤ 125% of the HHS Poverty Guidelines AND non-exempt assets ≤ $2,500; correctional/mental-facility residence; substantial-hardship fallback weighing charge, complexity, private-counsel cost, support needs, income/assets/obligations, and spousal income; bail posting and friends'/relatives' resources expressly NOT considered; indigence presumed for the remainder of the case absent material change; partial-indigency contribution orders); appointment rotation from the NEXT FIVE names on the public list (good-cause out-of-order findings recorded; one attorney for mixed felony/misdemeanor charges from the most-serious-offense list; a higher-category request requires the defendant's signed Motion to Appoint Attorney on Higher Category Case); public-list qualifications (sworn application, certification of knowledge of these rules, sworn FIDO training affidavit; licensed and in good standing; six CLE hours in criminal law yearly with one-year carryover; no public discipline within three years; PRINCIPAL LAW OFFICE IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY; typed motions and email/fax/phone capability; October 15 annual practice-time reports to TIDC; biennial reapproval by a majority of the criminal district judges); appeal-list criteria (board certification in Criminal or Appellate Law, OR three authored criminal/civil appellate briefs or post-conviction writs, OR a year as an appellate briefing clerk — plus a writing sample); CAPITAL qualifications tied to the SECOND ADMINISTRATIVE JUDICIAL REGION's Art. 26.052 selection-committee lists for lead, second-chair, and appellate counsel; special-language appointments; removal (majority vote) and case-level removal for cause; duties of appointed counsel (contact by the end of the first working day, interview as soon as practicable, representation through dismissal/acquittal/exhausted appeals/good-cause replacement, Performance Guidelines compliance, workload management); appointment by litigation phase (appellate counsel other than trial counsel absent a specific request; PDR through CCA final decision; certiorari in capital cases; habeas counsel other than trial/appellate counsel, through CCA decision); the Contract Defender Program (independent-contractor terms over a week and up to fifteen months; selection on experience, past performance, discipline, and contract-compliance ability; posted appointment methods; NO overlapping contract appointments; monthly OCA caseload reports to the judges; UP TO 95 DEFENDANTS PER TERM with withdrawal cases not counting; bi-weekly compensation $2,692.31 — $2,884.62 for Spanish-language attorneys — plus $750/day trial fees for continuous-sexual-abuse and aggravated-sexual-assault-of-a-child-under-6 trials); capital flat fees ($35,000 first chair / $30,000 second chair) or hourly where complexity requires ($150/$100 capital, $90 appeals, per Art. 26.05(a) criteria) with FIDO vouchers, presiding-judge approval or written findings, fee-denial appeals to the PRESIDING JUDGE OF THE SECOND ADMINISTRATIVE JUDICIAL REGION under the Fair Defense Act, ex parte confidential investigator/expert requests (type, admissibility facts, cost estimate; unapproved expenses reimbursed only if reasonably necessary and reasonably incurred), ex parte capital payment orders without time detail, and $1,000 magistration/bail-review block fees; retention in the OCA, both administrative judges' offices, and both clerks' offices. Adoption trail from Nov. 26, 2001 through the July 13, 2021 amendment effective Oct. 1, 2021 (signed /s/ Grant 9th, Michalk 221st, Hamilton 359th, Maginnis 435th).
Reviewer note: Image-only registration (20 pages; 19 substantive read in full through the vision lane — the final page is the signature block) with operative provisions quoted verbatim. The 2021-era signers (Grant/Michalk/Hamilton/Maginnis) match the current felony bench. Cross-references the regional capital-counsel lists held in region custody. Composed benchpath-ajr2-p2.
Establishes a Traffic Violations Bureau within the Clerk of the County Court under Fla. R. Traf. Ct. 6.100(a) (Burnstein, C.J., Nov. 1, 1988).
Approves the National Highway Safety Council Defensive Driving course as a school to which traffic courts may require attendance (Fla. R. Traf. Ct. 6.110(a)).
Texas > Montgomery County > the felony district courts (9th, 221st, 359th, 435th) and every attorney certified for felony appointments; magistration and bail-review practice county-wide. Capital-counsel eligibility runs through the Second Administrative Judicial Region's Art. 26.052 selection-committee lists (the regional instruments in this program's custody), and fee-denial appeals go to the region's Presiding Judge.
Preamble: "The District Judges of Montgomery County adopt these rules and these rules are applicable to all attorneys certified to handle felony criminal appointments... The Fair Indigent Defense Online (FIDO) will be the only method to determine indigence, appoint attorneys, submit, approve, and send vouchers for payment in criminal cases." Magistration: every defendant "shall be brought before a magistrate without unnecessary delay, but not later than 48 hours after... arrest" (Art. 15.17); for warrantless arrests "the magistrate must complete and file the necessary forms establishing probable cause at the time the defendant is booked into jail"; "A defense attorney assigned to the Magistration and Bail Review hearing will be present at the Magistration"; the 15.17 appointment is limited-scope (probable cause, bail, bail conditions) and "is concluded upon the termination of the Article 15.17 hearing, and no motion to withdraw is necessary"; an unsatisfied defendant "may request a bail re-hearing at the 15.17 hearing. This re-hearing will occur the next working day." Counsel-request transmittal: "not later than 24 hours after the defendant requests appointment of counsel"; authorized magistrates "shall appoint counsel within one working day after receipt of request." Indigence: a defendant is indigent if "net household income does not exceed 125% of the Poverty Guidelines" AND "the value of the non-exempt assets and property... does not exceed $2,500.00," or on correctional/mental-facility residence, or on substantial-hardship factors; "Factors NOT to be considered...: The accused person's posting of bail or ability to post bail. The resources available to friends or relatives of the accused." Presumption: indigence continues "for the remainder of the case unless a material change... occurs." Rotation: appointment "from among the next five names on the Public Appointment List in the order in which the attorney's name appears... unless the magistrate, Judge or AD Court makes a finding of good cause for appointing an attorney out of order"; mixed charges take "one attorney for all charges from the List for the most serious offense," with a higher-category request requiring the defendant's signed motion. List qualifications include: six CLE hours in criminal law annually (one-year carryover); no public discipline within three years; "Maintain their principal law office in Montgomery County, Texas"; the October 15 annual practice-time statement to the Texas Indigent Defense Commission; biennial reapplication approved "by a majority of the District Court Judges handling criminal cases." Appeal list: board certification, three authored appellate briefs/writs, or a year as an appellate briefing clerk, plus a writing sample. Capital: lead, second-chair, and appellate counsel "must be on the list of attorneys approved by the local selection committee of this Administrative Judicial Region... as provided in Article 26.052." Duties: contact "by the end of the first working day after" appointment; representation until dismissal, acquittal, exhausted appeals, or good-cause replacement on the record. Contract Defender Program: no overlapping contract appointments; monthly OCA caseload reports; "Attorney will be appointed up to 95 defendants per term"; compensation "$2692.31 (every 2 weeks)" ($2,884.62 Spanish-language), "$750" per-day trial fees for continuous-sexual-abuse and agg-sexual-assault-of-a-child-under-6 trials. Capital fees: "$35,000" first chair / "$30,000" second chair flat, or hourly "$150/hour... $100/hour... $90/hour" (Art. 26.05(a) criteria); vouchers via FIDO; disapproved-fee appeals go "to the Presiding Judge of the Second Administrative Judicial Region, as provided by the Fair Defense Act"; investigator/expert requests are "pretrial ex parte confidential" stating type, admissibility facts, and cost; unapproved expenses reimbursed only when "reasonably necessary and reasonably incurred"; capital payments "ordered via Ex Parte order" without time detail; magistration/bail-review blocks pay "$1,000" (Saturday–Monday or Tuesday–Friday). Retention: filed in the OCA, the Administrative District Judge's and Administrative CCL Judge's offices, and the District and County Clerks' offices. Adoption trail: adopted Nov. 26, 2001; amended repeatedly through "the 13th day of July, 2021, effective October 01, 2021." Signed /s/ — Judge Phil Grant (9th), Judge Lisa Michalk (221st), Judge Kathleen Hamilton (359th), Judge Patty Maginnis (435th).
Designates the D.W.I. Counterattack School (Broward County Commission on Alcoholism) as an approved school for court-ordered attendance (Fla. R. Traf. Ct. 6.110(a)).