§160. Regional director for service regions; qualifications; duties; selection process

A. The board shall employ a regional director for each of the service regions established by the board, to be selected as provided for in this Section. Each regional director shall meet the following qualifications:

(1) Meet the qualifications provided for in R.S. 15:150(B).

(2) Be an attorney licensed to practice law in the United States with at least five years of experience as a criminal defense attorney and, if licensed as an attorney in a state other than Louisiana, become licensed as an attorney in this state within one year of being employed by the board.

(3) Following his employment, be a domiciliary of the service region who is registered to vote in the service region.

B. Each regional director shall:

(1) Supervise public defender services provided within his assigned service region.

(2) Work in conjunction with the compliance officers to ensure that public defender assignments within the service region comply with the standards and guidelines adopted pursuant to rule by the board and the Rules of Professional Conduct.

(3) Employ and supervise the work of the service region personnel as authorized by the state public defender.

(4) Contract for services as authorized by the state public defender according to the standards and guidelines adopted pursuant to rule by the board and as required by statute.

(5) Keep a record of all public defender services and expenses in the service region and submit the records to the state public defender as requested.

(6) Implement the standards and guidelines adopted as rules by the board pursuant to R.S. 15:148 and in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

(7) Develop a method or methods of delivery of public defender services for the service region, for submission to the board for board approval, upon consultation with and recommendations of the district public defenders in each judicial district within the service region. The regional director shall consider any delivery model in existence prior to August 15, 2007, or prior to establishment of the region, as acceptable until that delivery model fails to comply with the uniform standards and guidelines for the delivery of public defender services in accordance with rules adopted by the board and as required by statute, unless the region is established for districts which have previously been determined not to be in compliance with the uniform standards and guidelines.

(8) Perform all other duties assigned by the state public defender or the board.

C. Upon making the determination to establish a service region, the board shall appoint a regional director selection committee as provided for in Subsection D of this Section.

D.(1) Each judicial district within the service region shall have three members appointed to the selection committee who are attorneys domiciled in that judicial district, are in good standing with the Louisiana Bar Association, and are not otherwise disqualified by Paragraph (2) of this Subsection.

(2) No person shall be appointed to the selection committee who has received compensation to be an elected judge, elected official, judicial officer, prosecutor, law enforcement official, indigent defense provider, or who is an employee of any such person, within a two-year period prior to appointment. No active part-time, full-time, contract, or court-appointed indigent defense provider, or active employees of such persons, may be appointed to serve on the selection committee.

(3) The members of the regional director selection committee shall be appointed district by district in the following manner:

(a) One member appointed by the state public defender.

(b) One member appointed by the president of the Louisiana State Bar Association.

(c) One member appointed by the chief judge of the judicial district.

(4) The state public defender shall select the chairman of the committee from one of his appointments.

E. In the event there are fewer than three attorneys eligible to serve as members of the selection committee as provided for in Subsection D of this Section, or there are fewer than three eligible attorneys who are willing to serve as members of the selection committee, the members shall be selected as provided for in Paragraph (D)(3) of this Section from among any registered voters residing in that judicial district.

F.(1) The selection committee shall review eligible candidates for the position of regional director, giving preference to those individuals who are domiciled in the service region.

(2) Within ninety days of formation of the selection committee, the selection committee shall submit a list of at least three nominees for the position of regional director.

G. Except as provided in Subsection H of this Section, within thirty days of receiving the nominations for the position of regional director from the selection committee, the board shall employ a regional director from the list of nominees submitted to the board.

H.(1) After review and analysis of the list of nominees submitted to the board by the selection committee, if the board determines that none of the submitted nominees are acceptable to the board, the board shall issue a written statement directing the selection committee to submit additional nominees for the position of regional director.

(2) If the board directs the selection committee to submit additional names for the position of regional director, the committee shall have ninety days to submit the additional names. Within thirty days of receiving the additional nominations for the position of regional director, the board shall employ a regional director from the list of nominees submitted to the board.

(3) The board shall direct the selection committee to submit additional nominees to the board only upon a determination that none of the submitted nominees are acceptable to be employed as regional director for the service region.

(4) The board may issue a written statement directing the selection committee to submit additional nominees for the position of regional director only one time during the selection process for that position.

Acts 2007, No. 307, §1; Acts 2008, No. 220, §6, eff. June 14, 2008.