[Adopted 12-16-1997 by Ord. No. 788]
There is hereby created the office of Municipal Public Defender
in the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus. At least one Municipal Public Defender
shall be appointed; provided, however, that two or more Municipal
Public Defenders may be appointed. Where two or more Municipal Public
Defenders are appointed, the governing body shall appoint a Chief
Municipal Public Defender. The Chief Municipal Public Defender shall
have authority over other Municipal Public Defenders serving the Municipal
Court with respect to the performance of their duties. All provisions
of this article shall apply to each Municipal Public Defender appointed.
The Municipal Public Defender shall be an attorney at law of
this state in good standing and serve for a term of one year from
the date of his or her appointment and may continue to serve in office
pending reappointment or appointment of a successor. The Municipal
Public Defender may be appointed to that position in one or more municipal
courts. The Municipal Public Defender need not be a resident of the
Borough.
The Mayor shall nominate and, with the advice and consent of
the Borough Council, appoint one or more Municipal Public Defender(s),
including the filling of a vacancy in the office, which shall be for
the unexpired term only.
The term of office of the Municipal Public Defender shall be
for one year, commencing on January 1 and terminating on December
31 of the same year and until a successor shall have been appointed
and qualified. Appointment of additional Municipal Public Defenders
shall be made in accordance with the provisions hereof.
A.
It shall be the duty of the Municipal Public Defender to represent,
except in the case of temporary unavailability or conflict of interest,
any defendant charged with an offense in Municipal Court who is an
indigent municipal defendant entitled to representation pursuant to
law. The Municipal Public Defender shall be responsible for handling
all phases of the defense, including but not limited to discovery,
pretrial and posttrial hearings, motions, removals to Federal District
Court and other collateral functions reasonably related to the defense.
As used herein, "posttrial hearing" shall not include denovo appeals
in Superior Court. The Municipal Public Defender shall represent an
indigent defendant charged in Municipal Court with a crime as specified
in N.J.S.A. 2B:12-18, or, if in the opinion of the Municipal Court
there is a likelihood that the defendant, if convicted of any other
offense, will be subject to imprisonment or other consequences of
magnitude, the Municipal Public Defender shall represent an indigent
defendant.
B.
If there is a vacancy in the office of Municipal Public Defender,
if the Municipal Public Defender is temporarily unavailable or if
a finding of conflict of interest precludes the Municipal Public Defender
from representing an indigent defendant, the Municipal Prosecutor
may prosecute the offense if the Municipal Court appoints a qualified
attorney (court-approved counsel) to represent the indigent defendant.
Compensation of the Municipal Public Defender or court-approved
counsel shall be on a per-case basis in such amounts as shall be determined
and fixed from time to time by resolution of the Borough Council.
A.
Any person applying for representation by a Municipal Public Defender
or court-approved counsel shall pay an application fee of $200. In
accordance with guidelines promulgated by the Supreme Court, the Municipal
Court may waive the application fee, in whole or in part, only if
the Court determines, in its discretion, upon a clear and convincing
showing by the applicant that the application fee represents an unreasonable
burden on the person seeking representation. The Municipal Court may
permit a person to pay the application fee over a specific period
of time, not to exceed four months.
B.
Funds collected pursuant to Subsection A herein shall be deposited in a dedicated fund administered by the Chief Financial Officer of the Borough. Such funds shall be used exclusively to meet the costs incurred in providing the services of a Municipal Public Defender, including, when required, expert and lay investigation and testimony.
