There is hereby established the office of Public
Defender for the Borough of Seaside Heights for the defense of indigent
defendants charged with offenses involving serious fines, drivers
license revocations and incarceration.
The Public Defender shall be appointed by the
Mayor with the advice and consent of the Borough Council for a period
of one year.
The Public Defender shall be an attorney at
law of New Jersey in good standing.
The Public Defender shall interview all indigent
defendants qualifying for assistance as hereinafter defined and defend
the same in the Municipal Court in the borough only, and not in any
other court.
The definition of indigent shall be the same
as utilized by the Office of the Public Defender of the State of New
Jersey for those cases handled by the Ocean County Office thereof.
The Municipal Court Judge may direct the Public
Defender to defend indigents in matters other than those designated
herein upon his finding that the nature of the offense, the defendant
or the penalty would result in unusual harm or prejudice to the defendant
if not afforded representation by the Public Defender.
[Amended 3-18-1998 by Ord. No. 98-8]
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2B:12-28b,[1] the Borough of Seaside Heights shall require any person
applying for representation by the Municipal Public Defender to pay
an application fee of not more than $200. The Municipal Court may
waive any required application fee, in whole or in part, if the Court
determines in its discretion that the application fee represents an
unreasonable burden on the person seeking representation.
[1]
Editor's Note: N.J.S.A. 2B:12-28b was repealed
by P.L. 1997, c. 256. See now N.J.S.A. 2B:24-17a.
