Title 17, Criminal Procedures

(A) A person to whom counsel has been provided shall execute an affidavit that he is financially unable to employ counsel and that affidavit must set forth all his assets. If it appears that the person has some assets but they are insufficient to employ private counsel, the court…

(A) There is created the Commission on Indigent Defense consisting of thirteen members. (B) Nine members shall be appointed by the Governor as follows: (1) One member from each of the four judicial regions of the State appointed upon recommendation of the South Carolina Public De…

(A) There is created the Office of Indigent Defense under the jurisdiction of the commission. The office must be administered by an executive director appointed by the commission. The executive director may hire other administrative, clerical, and legal staff and is authorized to…

(A) The Office of Indigent Defense shall: (1) serve as the entity which distributes all funds appropriated by the General Assembly for the defense of indigents, including funds allocated to public defender offices pursuant to the formula, funds for the defense of capital cases, f…

(A) All members of the commission shall at all times act in the best interest of indigent defendants who are receiving legal representation pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. (B) All members of the commission are entitled to vote on all matters before the commission unle…

The members of the commission and the Circuit Public Defender Selection Panel and other policy-making or administrative personnel acting in a policy-making or administrative capacity in connection with the commission or the panel are not subject to civil liability resulting from …

(A) There is created within the Office of Indigent Defense, the Division of Appellate Defense. All of the allied, advisory, affiliated, or related entities as well as the employees, funds, property, and all contractual rights and obligations associated with the commission and Off…

The provisions of this article shall not restrict a court in which an appeal is to be effected, from appointing counsel for indigent persons when the division is disqualified from representation for reasons of conflict or when the division deems it advisable that it not provide r…

The commission will be funded by appropriations to the commission in the state General Appropriations Act including federal funds as may be available.

(A) The appointment of counsel, as hereinbefore provided, creates a claim against the assets and estate of the person who is provided counsel in an amount equal to the costs of representation as determined pursuant to Sections 17-3-50 and 17-3-80, less that amount that the person…

(A) A person to whom counsel has been provided in any court in this State shall execute an affidavit that the person is financially unable to employ counsel and that affidavit shall set forth all of the person's assets. If it appears that the person has some assets but they are i…

As used in this chapter, the term: (1) "Commission" means the Commission on Indigent Defense. (2) "Division of Appellate Defense" includes all attorneys and employees in the division. (3) "Assistant public defender" means an attorney who is employed by a circuit public defender o…

(A) When private counsel is appointed pursuant to this chapter, he must be paid a reasonable fee to be determined on the basis of forty dollars an hour for time spent out of court and sixty dollars an hour for time spent in court. The same hourly rates apply in post-conviction pr…

(A) There is created in each judicial circuit in the State a Circuit Public Defender Selection Panel, the membership of which is composed of, and must be elected by, the active, licensed attorneys who reside within the counties of each judicial circuit. Each county in each judici…

(A) In order for a person to be eligible to fill the position of circuit public defender, the person must: (1) be at least twenty-five years of age; (2) have been admitted and licensed to practice law in all courts of the State for at least five years; (3) be a member in good sta…

(A) Each circuit public defender may employ, assign, and supervise one or more chief county public defenders in the counties within the circuit to assist in managing, supervising, and providing indigent defense representation in the circuit. (B) Each chief county public defender …

(A) Subject to the provisions of this section, the circuit public defender in each judicial circuit may maintain offices and employ chief county public defenders, assistant public defenders, investigators, and other staff as necessary to provide adequate and meaningful representa…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Commission on Indigent Defense is authorized to carry forward unpaid obligations incurred and received for payment in one fiscal year and to pay, to the extent possible, these obligations from funds appropriated in the next year's b…

No county may appropriate funds for public defender operations in a fiscal year below the amount it funded in the immediate previous fiscal year.

Each circuit public defender shall expend the funds received from the counties in the circuit, the State, and other sources for the general operations of the circuit defenders office including reimbursement to the administering county for employee compensation and fringe benefits…

(A) All public defenders and other personnel employed by a county public defender corporation on a full-time or a part-time basis are considered employees of the circuit public defenders office in the judicial circuit in which they serve. No employee currently employed pursuant t…

(A) A public defender employed full-time by the circuit public defender shall not engage in the private practice of law for profit. (B) A public defender employed by the circuit public defender must be a member of the South Carolina Bar and must be admitted to practice before all…

The governing body of the county shall provide, in conjunction and cooperation with the other counties in the judicial circuit and in a pro rata share according to the population of each county, appropriate offices, utilities, telephone expenses, materials, and supplies as are ne…

All contracts in force on the date this legislation is effective between private attorneys and county indigent defense corporations for the provision of indigent defense services within a county or counties shall remain in force and be recognized by the commission and circuit pub…

In addition to the appropriation as provided by law, there is appropriated for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 1969, the sum of fifty thousand dollars for the establishment of the defense fund which must be administered by the Office of Indigent Defense. This fund must be used…

At the end of each fiscal year all funds appropriated for counties without public defender corporations which have not been exhausted shall be combined into one fund and any and all claims of private appointed counsel in other counties remaining unpaid by virtue of the exhaustion…

Private, appointed counsel shall submit a voucher to the Office of Indigent Defense setting forth all details of the appointment for purposes of remuneration pursuant to Section 17-3-50 and reimbursement of expenses pursuant to Section 17-3-80, and the public defender shall do li…