2A:158A-7. Powers, responsibilities of public defender

7. The Public Defender shall:

(a) Appoint such investigators, stenographic and clerical assistants and other personnel as may be required for the conduct of the office, subject to the provisions of Title 11A, Civil Service, of the New Jersey Statutes, and other applicable statutes;

(b) Establish and maintain suitable headquarters for the office and such regional quarters within the State as the Public Defender shall deem necessary for the proper functioning of the office;

(c) Maintain one or more trial pools of lawyers who shall be available to serve as counsel on a case basis as needed;

(d) Engage counsel from said trial pools on a case basis as may be necessary for the proper performance of the duties of the office and compensate them for their services;

(e) Accept the services of volunteer workers or consultants at no compensation or at nominal or token compensation and reimburse them for their proper and necessary expenses;

(f) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1972, c.168);

(g) Keep and maintain proper financial records and records in respect to particular cases handled and develop records for use in the calculation of direct and indirect costs of all or any aspect of the operation of the office;

(h) On the basis of available data or estimates to prepare schedules of rates from time to time of amounts to be paid for services rendered other than by the staff, taking into account the nature of the services, the time involved, trouble and risk, the skill and experience required, and other pertinent factors;

(i) Have a general responsibility for the operation of the office;

(j) Formulate and adopt rules and regulations as are necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act and for the efficient conduct of the work and general administration of the office, its professional staff and other employees;

(k) Be the request officer of the office within the meaning of such term as defined in P.L.1944, c. 112;

(l) Have the authority to make all necessary arrangements to coordinate services to the office with any federal program to provide counsel to the indigent, and to arrange for the receipt by the office, wherever possible, of sums allowable under such federal program, whether by direct allowance, by assignment or transfer, or otherwise;

(m) Have the authority to solicit, apply for and expend grants, donations, or other funds available from the federal government or private foundations as may be available to support the programs of the office; and

(n) Assume responsibility for representation in litigation formerly handled by the Office of Inmate Advocacy in the Department of the Public Advocate that is pending on the effective date of P.L.1994, c.58 (C.52:27E-50 et al.).

L.1967,c.43,s.7; amended 1970,c.308; 1972,c.168; 1994,c.58,s.9.