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The Process of Reform in North Dakota
Chief Justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court, Gerald W. VandeWalle, began raising the issue of indigent defense reform around 2000. His criticisms of the North Dakota system focused on the conflict of interest that results from judges operating the indigent defense system, as well as the inadequate funding provided for indigent defense.
In his 2001, State of the Judiciary speech to the General Assembly, the Chief Justice asked for a study to consider the establishment of a different method of providing legal representation for indigent criminal defendants. The Interim Criminal Justice Committee, a legislative committee that operates in the years between sessions, conducted a brief study of the system and proposed to move indigent defense out of the judiciary. The legislation introduced would have relocated the indigent defense system to the Office of Administrative Hearings. The proposal was not well received and the bill was not passed.
After the 2003 legislative session, the State Bar Association of North Dakota began to take the lead in the reform effort. With the support of the Attorney General’s Office and the Supreme Court, the Bar Association passed a resolution to create a task force to review the indigent defense system and provide recommendations to the interim committee on desirable changes. According to Sandi Tabor, the Chief Deputy with the Attorney General’s Office and Chair of the Bar Association’s Legislative Committee, the task force was the key to reform.
The task force enlisted the assistance of The Spangenburg Group to analyze the current indigent defense system in North Dakota, and the Spangenburg Group published its report in January, 2004. The report observed that the “chief problem with North Dakota’s indigent defense system is the pervasive absence of independence for the defense function from the judiciary.” Additionally, it noted that flat fee, low-bid contracts place the issue of cost above the issue of quality and generally result in overwhelming caseloads and pressure to entry guilty pleas, particular in complex cases.
The report concluded that North Dakota’s system was “in danger of failing to fulfill its constitutional mandate of providing indigent defendants with effective assistance of counsel.” It recommended “that North Dakota shift to a statewide public defender program to better serve indigent defendants.” To read the full report, click here.
After reviewing the report, the task force worked with the Criminal Justice Interim Committee to draft new reform legislation. The Committee favorably reported a reform package shortly before the start of the 2005 session. The proposed legislation called for the formation of a statewide indigent defense commission, empowered to set standards for eligibility, defender qualifications, and attorney performance. The package also doubled the funding for indigent defense services.
In 2005, the Chief Justice again called for indigent defense reform in his State of the Judiciary speech. Specifically, he called for the legislature to adopt the legislation supported by the task force and passed by the Interim Committee. To read the Chief Justice’s 2005 State of the Judiciary speech, click here.
The reform legislation passed in the spring of 2005. To read the bill establishing the statewide commission, click here.
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