Scope of Service

To: Bryan Wilson Task Force on Indigent Defense

From: Myrna Gonzalez Webb County Indigent Defense Coordinator

Re: Services conducted by the Indigent Defense Coordinator

______The Indigent Defense Coordinator in Webb County has not been appointed as the judicial designee to appoint counsel. Therefore, the data requested in the quarterly progress report has not been tabulated. The following is a synopsis of the duties of the Indigent Defense Coordinator from December 2004 to February 2005.

December

During the month of December, I revised the Webb County District and the Juvenile Indigent Defense Plan. I incorporated the changes recommended by the Task Force and the changes suggested by the Webb County Board of Judges. I met with the Administrative Judge and the Chief Judge of the Juvenile Board and had them review the plan. I also consulted with the County Attorney and implemented the changes he recommended. The plan was submitted to the Task Force on December 20, 2005.

The remainder of the month I focused on setting up an agenda for implementing the changes recommended by Ms. Carol Conner during the Task Force monitoring visit. I set up meetings with the Director of the Juvenile Detention Center. I also spoke with the incoming Sheriff about setting up meetings with his staff.

I presented new attorney applications during the monthly Board of Judges meeting. Once the attorneys were approved, I updated the indigent defense attorney appointment list and distributed the list to every Court. During December, I also reviewed the jail roster on a daily basis verifying that every defendant, who requested and qualified for an attorney, had been appointed an attorney.

January

In January, I focused on implementing the changes suggested by Ms. Connor during the Task Force monitoring visit. I met with Mr. Ponce Trevino who is the Sheriff’s Officer responsible for overseeing the magistration process. We discussed the problems encountered by Ms. Connor and established a method to correct the problem. I am conducting a quarterly monitoring review of the magistration forms to verify the problems have been corrected. During January, I paid a visit to the Juvenile Detention Center. I observed the detention hearing process and met with one of the probation officers. The probation officer explained the process of interviewing the juvenile, and their parent or guardian, prior to the detention hearing. After observing the detention hearing and learning the interview process, I met with Ms. Mojica who is the Director of the Juvenile Detention Center. Ms. Mojica and I discussed implementing the changes recommended by Ms. Connor. I recommended making several changes which would assure the County was complying with the Texas Fair Defense Act.

I presented new attorney applications during the monthly Board of Judges meeting. Once the attorneys were approved, I updated the indigent defense attorney appointment list and distributed the list to every Court. During January, I also reviewed the jail roster on a daily basis verifying that every defendant, who requested and qualified for an attorney, had been appointed an attorney.

February

In February, I met with Oscar Vela, the President of the Laredo Bar Association. I informed Mr. Vela that I was going to hold a meeting to give the local attorneys a synopsis of the Webb County Indigent Defense Plan. I requested the assistance of the local Bar Association in disseminating the information and encouraging the attorneys to attend. I informed the Board of Judges of the meeting and invited them to attend. I also requested the assistance of the Deputy Auditor in explaining the payment process to the attorneys.

During the meeting, I gave a synopsis of the Webb County Indigent Defense Plan and the Deputy Auditor presented the financial aspects of the plan. We had an excellent turnout at the meeting. The attorneys had an opportunity to state their concerns and ask questions. Several of the Judges attended the meeting and responded to the questions and concerns presented by the attorneys.

In addition to coordinating the meeting, I wrote an article for the Bar Association newsletter discussing the topics that were reviewed during the meeting. I gave a presentation at the Board of Judges meeting informing the Judges of the concerns raised by the local Bar. The Judges responded to the concerns raised and requested that I draft an official response.

I presented new attorney applications during the monthly Board of Judges meeting. Once the attorneys were approved, I updated the indigent defense attorney appointment list and distributed the list to every Court. During February, I also reviewed the jail roster on a daily basis verifying that every defendant, who requested and qualified for an attorney, had been appointed an attorney.