Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 096-1148
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Public Act 096-1148


 

Public Act 1148 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
Public Act 096-1148
 
HB5410 EnrolledLRB096 19262 RLC 34653 b

    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The State Appellate Defender Act is amended by
changing Sections 9.1 and 10 as follows:
 
    (725 ILCS 105/9.1)  (from Ch. 38, par. 208-9.1)
    Sec. 9.1. Individuals Two individuals may share one
attorney or staff position. For purposes of this Section,
"shared position" means a position in which 2 individuals share
the salary and employee benefits. For purposes of seniority,
each individual shall receive credit at a rate equal to the
percentage of time employed in a shared position. Attorneys
sharing a position may not engage in the private practice of
law.
(Source: P.A. 83-771.)
 
    (725 ILCS 105/10)  (from Ch. 38, par. 208-10)
    Sec. 10. Powers and duties of State Appellate Defender.
    (a) The State Appellate Defender shall represent indigent
persons on appeal in criminal and delinquent minor proceedings,
when appointed to do so by a court under a Supreme Court Rule
or law of this State.
    (b) The State Appellate Defender shall submit a budget for
the approval of the State Appellate Defender Commission.
    (c) The State Appellate Defender may:
        (1) maintain a panel of private attorneys available to
    serve as counsel on a case basis;
        (2) establish programs, alone or in conjunction with
    law schools, for the purpose of utilizing volunteer law
    students as legal assistants;
        (3) cooperate and consult with state agencies,
    professional associations, and other groups concerning the
    causes of criminal conduct, the rehabilitation and
    correction of persons charged with and convicted of crime,
    the administration of criminal justice, and, in counties of
    less than 1,000,000 population, study, design, develop and
    implement model systems for the delivery of trial level
    defender services, and make an annual report to the General
    Assembly;
        (4) hire investigators to provide investigative
    services to appointed counsel and county public defenders;
        (5) in cases in which a death sentence is an authorized
    disposition, provide trial counsel with legal assistance
    advice and the assistance of expert witnesses,
    investigators, and mitigation specialists from funds
    appropriated to the State Appellate Defender specifically
    for that purpose by the General Assembly. The Office of
    State Appellate Defender shall not be appointed to serve as
    trial counsel in capital cases;
        (6) develop a Juvenile Defender Resource Center to: (i)
    study, design, develop, and implement model systems for the
    delivery of trial level defender services for juveniles in
    the justice system; (ii) in cases in which a sentence of
    incarceration or an adult sentence, or both, is an
    authorized disposition, provide trial counsel with legal
    advice and the assistance of expert witnesses and
    investigators from funds appropriated to the Office of the
    State Appellate Defender by the General Assembly
    specifically for that purpose; (iii) develop and provide
    training to public defenders on juvenile justice issues,
    utilizing resources including the State and local bar
    associations, the Illinois Public Defender Association,
    law schools, the Midwest Juvenile Defender Center, and pro
    bono efforts by law firms; and (iv) make an annual report
    to the General Assembly.
    Investigators employed by the Capital Trial Assistance
Unit Death Penalty Trial Assistance and Capital Post Conviction
Unit Capital Litigation Division of the State Appellate
Defender shall be authorized to inquire through the Illinois
State Police or local law enforcement with the Law Enforcement
Agencies Data System (LEADS) under Section 2605-375 of the
Civil Administrative Code of Illinois to ascertain whether
their potential witnesses have a criminal background,
including: (i) warrants; (ii) arrests; (iii) convictions; and
(iv) officer safety information. This authorization applies
only to information held on the State level and shall be used
only to protect the personal safety of the investigators. Any
information that is obtained through this inquiry may not be
disclosed by the investigators.
    (d) For each State fiscal year, the State Appellate
Defender shall request a direct appropriation from the Capital
Litigation Trust Fund for expenses incurred by the State
Appellate Defender in providing assistance to trial attorneys
under item (c)(5) of this Section and for expenses incurred by
the State Appellate Defender in representing petitioners in
capital cases in post-conviction proceedings under Article 122
of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 and in relation to
petitions filed under Section 2-1401 of the Code of Civil
Procedure in relation to capital cases and for the
representation of those petitioners by attorneys approved by or
contracted with the State Appellate Defender and an
appropriation to the State Treasurer for payments from the
Trust Fund for the defense of cases in counties other than Cook
County State Appellate Defender shall appear before the General
Assembly and request appropriations to be made from the Capital
Litigation Trust Fund to the State Treasurer for the purpose of
providing defense assistance in capital cases outside of Cook
County and for expenses incurred by the State Appellate
Defender in representing petitioners in capital cases in
post-conviction proceedings under Article 122 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure of 1963 and in relation to petitions filed
under Section 2-1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure in relation
to capital cases and for the representation of those
petitioners by attorneys approved by or contracted with the
State Appellate Defender. The State Appellate Defender may
appear before the General Assembly at other times during the
State's fiscal year to request supplemental appropriations
from the Trust Fund to the State Treasurer.
    (e) The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly
shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the
Speaker, the Minority Leader and the Clerk of the House of
Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader and the
Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Research Unit, as
required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization
Act and filing such additional copies with the State Government
Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly as is
required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State Library
Act.
(Source: P.A. 94-340, eff. 1-1-06; 95-376, eff. 1-1-08.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 7/21/2010