A. For the purposes of the exempt salaries plan prepared pursuant to Section 10-9-5 NMSA 1978, each district public defender shall be considered an assistant in the offices of the chief.
B. All employees of the department other than the chief, assistant chief public defenders, appellate defender and district public defenders shall be subject to the provisions of the Personnel Act [Chapter 10, Article 9 NMSA 1978], unless the employees are exempted from the Personnel Act by the commission.
C. Before the commission may exempt the department from the Personnel Act, the commission shall develop and adopt personnel policies for the department; provided that no employee of the department, except the chief, assistant chief public defenders, appellate defender and district public defenders, shall have fewer rights under these policies than under the Personnel Act [and under administrative rules applicable to state employees on the effective date of this 2014 act.
D. No chief, assistant chief public defender, appellate defender, district public defender or attorney hired on a full-time basis as an assistant to the chief or to a district public defender, while holding that office or employed in that capacity, shall engage in the private practice of law. Attorneys who serve as counsel for indigent persons under contract with the department may engage in the private practice of law.
History: 1953 Comp., § 41-22A-11, enacted by Laws 1973, ch. 156, § 11; 1977, ch. 257, § 61; 2014, ch. 78, § 5.
The 2014 amendment, effective May 21, 2014, required the public defender commission to develop and adopt personnel policies before it exempts the public defender department from the Personnel Act; in Subsection A, after "offices of the chief", deleted "public defender"; in Subsection B, after "other than the chief", deleted "public defender" and added "assistant chief public defenders, appellate defender", and after "Personnel Act", added the remainder of the sentence; added Subsection C; and in Subsection D, in the first sentence, after "No chief", added "assistant chief public defender, appellate defender".
Copyright ©2024 LegalFix. All rights reserved. LegalFix is not a law firm, is not licensed to practice law, and does not provide legal advice, services, or representation. The information on this website is an overview of the legal plans you can purchase—or that may be provided by your employer as an employee benefit or by your credit union or other membership group as a membership benefit.
LegalFix provides its members with easy access to affordable legal services through a network of independent law firms. LegalFix, its corporate entity, and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and contractors do not provide legal advice, services, or representation—directly or indirectly.
The articles and information on the site are not legal advice and should not be relied upon—they are for information purposes only. You should become a LegalFix member to get legal services from one of our network law firms.
You should not disclose confidential or potentially incriminating information to LegalFix—you should only communicate such information to your network law firm.
The benefits and legal services described in the LegalFix legal plans are not always available in all states or with all plans. See the legal plan Benefit Overview and the more comprehensive legal plan contract during checkout for coverage details in your state.
Use of this website, the purchase of legal plans, and access to the LegalFix networks of law firms are subject to the LegalFix Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.