(1) If a person files a claim for damages arising from professional negligence as a result of an act or omission committed by an attorney during the performance of the attorney's duties pursuant to a contract with the office of alternate defense counsel pursuant to section 21-2-105:
(a) The complainant shall file with the court a certificate of review in accordance with the provisions of part 6 of article 20 of title 13, C.R.S.;
(b) The attorney shall not be required to file an answer to the complaint until twenty days after the complainant files the accompanying certificate of review; and
(c) The office of the attorney general shall represent the attorney from the time of service of the complaint until the certificate of review is filed; except that, if the office of alternate defense counsel determines that the act or omission that is the basis of the claim did not occur during the performance of the attorney's duties pursuant to a contract with the office of alternate defense counsel pursuant to section 21-2-105:
(I) The office of alternate defense counsel shall notify the attorney and the office of the attorney general of said determination; and
(II) The office of the attorney general shall not represent the attorney.
(2) Upon the timely filing of a certificate of review as required in subsection (1) of this section, the court shall:
(a) Allow the office of the attorney general to withdraw from representation of the attorney; and
(b) If requested, allow the attorney to substitute new counsel to represent him or her.
(3) If the office of the attorney general represents an attorney pursuant to paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of this section and the court determines that the act or omission that is the basis of the claim did not occur during the performance of the attorney's duties pursuant to a contract with the office of alternate defense counsel pursuant to section 21-2-105, the office of the attorney general may request, and in response to such a request the court shall order, the attorney to reimburse the office of the attorney general for reasonable costs and reasonable attorney fees incurred by the office of the attorney general during the course of the representation.
(4) If a person files a claim for damages that arise from professional negligence as a result of an act or omission committed by an attorney during the performance of the attorney's duties pursuant to a contract with the office of alternate defense counsel pursuant to section 21-2-105 and the attorney's contract for insurance with his or her malpractice insurance carrier requires the attorney to notify the insurance carrier upon the filing of a claim against the attorney, the insurance carrier may not consider the claim in determining the amount of the attorney's future malpractice insurance premiums unless a certificate of review is timely filed pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section.
Source: L. 2010: Entire section added, (SB 10-063), ch. 99, p. 339, � 1, effective August 11.
21-2-108. Conflict-free defense for indigent persons in municipal courts - fund created. (1) For the purposes of section 21-2-103 (1)(c) and (5), any municipality that wants to utilize the services of the office of alternate defense counsel may request such services as provided in this section.
(2) A municipality that wants to utilize the services of the office of alternate defense counsel to evaluate the provision of defense counsel to indigent defendants as described in section 13-10-114.5 (3)(c)(II)(A) during the next calendar year shall request such services on or before September 1, 2018, and on or before September 1 each year thereafter.
(3) On or before May 1, 2019, and on or before May 1 each year thereafter, the office of alternate defense counsel shall inform each municipality that requested the evaluation services of the office pursuant to subsection (2) of this section whether the office has sufficient funding to provide the services and whether the office can commit to providing such services during the next calendar year.
(4) On or before January 1, 2020, and on or before January 1 each year thereafter, the office of alternate defense counsel shall begin evaluating the provision of defense counsel to indigent defendants in each municipality to which the office committed such services pursuant to subsection (3) of this section.
(5) A municipality that wants to utilize the office of alternate defense counsel to provide a list of approved attorneys to be used for indigent defense during the next calendar year shall request such services on or before September 1, 2020, or on or before September 1 each year thereafter.
(6) On or before May 1, 2021, and on or before May 1 each year thereafter, the office of alternate defense counsel shall inform each municipality that requested the legal defense services of the office pursuant to subsection (5) of this section whether the office has sufficient funding to provide the services and whether the office can commit to providing such services during the next calendar year.
(7) On or before January 1, 2022, and on or before January 1 each year thereafter, the office of alternate defense counsel shall provide a list of approved indigent defense counsel to each municipality to which the office committed such services pursuant to subsection (6) of this section.
(8) There is created in the state treasury the conflict-free municipal defense fund, referred to in this subsection (8) as the fund, which consists of any money collected from municipalities and credited to the fund and any other money that the general assembly may appropriate or transfer to the fund. Money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the office of alternate defense counsel for the purposes described in this section. The state treasurer shall credit all interest derived from the deposit and investment of money in the fund to the fund. Any money not appropriated by the general assembly must remain in the fund and shall not be transferred or revert to the general fund at the end of any fiscal year.
Source: L. 2018: Entire section added, (SB 18-203), ch. 354, p. 2113, � 3, effective August 8.
21-2-109. Office of alternate defense counsel - gifts, grants, and donations for record sealing. (1) The office of alternate defense counsel may apply for grants and accept gifts or donations from private or public sources for the purpose of representing indigent clients in matters pursuant to part 7 of article 72 of title 24 when such action is in accordance with the Colorado rules of professional conduct and the American bar association standards relating to criminal justice for the defense function. The office of alternate defense counsel shall not accept a gift, grant, or donation if the gift, grant, or donation is conditioned on its use for sealing records for a specific identified individual or individuals. The office of alternate defense counsel shall transmit all money received through gifts, grants, or donations to the state treasurer, who shall credit the money to the sealing defense fund created in section 21-1-107.
(2) The office of alternate defense counsel shall annually report on the receipt and expenditure of gifts, grants, and donations pursuant to subsection (1) of this section at its presentation to its committee of reference at a hearing held pursuant to section 2-7-203 (2)(a) of the State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act.
Source: L. 2021: Entire section added, (HB 21-1214), ch. 455, p. 3030, � 4, effective September 7.