HomeMy WebLinkAboutIndigent Defense Services Paul McBrideAGREEMENT FOR KITTITAS COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT INDIGENT
DEFENSE SERVTCES (2024)
This agreement is entered into by and between the County of Kittitas (County) and Paul McBride
(Contracting Attomey, WSBA #47 57 4).
1. Scope of Services. The Contracting Attorney agrees to provide, or arrange for the provision of,
public defender services for all eligible indigent criminal defendants in cases filed in the Superior
Court (Court) as set forth in this agreement. The Contracting Attorney or other assigned counsel
shall provide legal representation for each assigned defendant from the time of receiving notice
of appointment through every stage of the legal proceedings at the Superior court level including
sentencing and the processing of notices of appeal and motions for orders of indigence for direct
appeals. After the termination of this agreement. All cases assigned to the Contracting Attorney
as of the date of termination of this contract for which the next set hearing date is within 180
days after such date of termination will be handled as set forth above; provided, that in any case
where the client fails to appear for a trial or hearing after termination of the contract, the
Contracting Attomey may withdraw from representation subject to order of the court and as
allowed by court rule and thereafter the Contracting Attorney shall have no obligation herein to
represent the client or accept reappointment thereafter.
2. Attorney as Independent Contractor. The parties recognize and affirm the understanding that
the Attorney is an independent contractor having no relationship to the County except to provide
professional legal defense services to the persons officially assigned to the Attorney pursuant to
this Contract. Neither the Attomey nor any employee of the Attorney is an employee of the
County. Neither the Attorney nor any employee of the Attomey is entitled to any benefits that
the County provides its employees. The Attorney will provide the Kittitas County Department of
Public Defense with proof of a valid Washington Uniform Business Identification number before
commencement of work. The Attorney is solely responsible for the timely payment of any taxes,
assessments, statutory workers compensation, or employer's liability insurance as required by
Federal or state law for the Attomey and any employees of the Attorney. The Attorney
guarantees such payment and will indemniS' the County in that regard, and as provided in
Paragraph 8 of this agreement
3. Applicant Screening. Determination of Indigence for pu{poses of eligibility for appointed
counsel under this contract shall be made by a screening process established by the Court.
Counsel is under no obligation to determine a person's eligibility or continuing eligibility to
receive publicly provided representation. However, if counsel subsequently discovers that such
person may not be eligible to receive publicly provided representation under applicable laws,
rules and standards, Counsel, if able to do so within the bounds of applicable ethical rules/
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professional standards, shall promptly notitr the Kittitas County Department of Public Defense
of such possibility.
4. Associated Counsel. Any counsel associated with or employed by the Contracting Attorney
shall have the authority to perform the services called for herein, and the Contracting Attorney
may employ andlor associate counsel to assist him/her. The Contracting Attomey and all
counsel employed or associated pursuant to this section shall be admitted to the practice of law in
the State of Washington and be in good standing as such, shall comply with applicable
provisions of CrR 3.1 Standards for Indigent Defense, and shall have a minimum of five years'
experience in the criminal law legal field (defense attorney and/or prosecutor and/or judicial).
The Contracting Attorney shall be responsible for performance of this Agreement
notwithstanding that other counsel may be employed or associated by the Contracting Attomey
to perform services herein. The Contracting Attorney shall notifu the Court of any proposed
association or employment of counsel for purposes of performing the services called herein and
shall include in such notification documentation regarding the background, education, training,
experience and qualifications of such counsel, and any additional training and supervision that is
proposed to be provided to such associated or employed counsel for purposes of performing the
services called for herein. The Contracting Attomey's selection of any counsel associated with
or employed by the attorney to perform the services described in this contract shall be subject to
the approval of the Court.
5. Training. Attomeys providing public defense services shall complete seven hours of continuing
legal education approved by the Washington State Office of Public Defense within each calendar
year in courses relating to their public defense practice. (RCW 10. 101 .050; CrR 3.1 Standards)
Attomeys providing public defense services shall comply with all applicable standards, training
andlor certification requirements as may be required by court rule or regulations and shall
provide written proof of such compliance to the court.
6. Certification. Attorneys providing public defense services shall comply with the Standards for
Indigent Defense adopted by the Supreme Court. Each attorney shall provide a Certification of
Compliance with the applicable standards as required by CrR 3.1 which shall be filed with the
Kittitas County Department of Public Defense on the last Monday of each January, April, July,
and October by the Contracting Attorney and any associated or employed attomey providing
legal defense in Superior Court under this agreement. The certification shall also include
caseload reporting by the attorney consistent with the requirements imposed upon the County by
RCW 10.101.050.
7. Proof of Professional Liability Insurance. The Contracting Attorney shall provide insurance
coverage as set out in this section. The intent of the required insurance is to protect the
COLINTY should there be any claims, suits, actions, costs, damages, or expenses arising from
any negligent or intentional act or omission of the CONTRACTOR or subcontractor or agents of
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either, while performing under the terms of this contract. During the term of this agreement or
extensions thereof, any attorney providing services under this contract shall secure and maintain
at her own expense a policy of comprehensive professional liability insurance with an insurance
company licensed to do business in the State of Washington. CONTRACTOR shall instruct the
insurers to give COTJNTY 3O-days advance notice of any insurance cancellation. Said policy
shall have limits of not less than $1,000,000 per occwrence and $2,000,000 annual, aggregate
limit. Kittitas County shall be endorsed as an additional insured and the Contracting Attomey
shall provide proof of insurance satisfactory to the county under this paragraph prior to execution
of this agreement.
8. Indemnification. The Contracting Attorney shall indemnifu, defend and hold the County, its
elected officials, officers and employees harmless from any and all claims whatsoever arising out
of performance of the Attorney's obligations pursuant to the Agreement, including but not
limited to claims arising out of errors or omissions of the contracting Attomey (or his employees
or associates) and/or by reason ofaccident, injury or death caused to persons or property ofany
kind occurring, except to the extent they are caused by the fault or neglect of the County or the
Court. The indemnification obligations contained in this Paragraph shall not be limited by any
worker's compensation, benefit or disability laws, and the indemnifuing party hereby waives
(solely for the benefit of the indemnified party) any immunity that the indemni$ing party may
have under the Industrial Insurance Act (Title 51 RCW) and similar worker's compensation,
benefit, or disability laws.
9. Term of Agreement. Provision of services pursuant to this Agreement shall commence
January I,2024 and terminate on December 31,2024, unless this Agreement is terminated
earlier pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph 18, and the Contracting Attorney shall provide
service to all defendants referred herein in accordance with the terms of this Agreement until
representation of such defendant is complete, as provided in Paragraph 1 of this Agreement.
This Agreement shall apply to all referrals made through December 3l,2024,unless the contract
is terminated earlier, in which case the contract shall apply to all referrals made until 5:00 p.m.
on the date of termination of the contract.
10. Scope of Work. Over the course of any 365-day period the Contracting Attorney (and any
associated or employed counsel) shall handle a caseload of up to, but no more than 67 felony
cases, or an average number of 5.58 per month, plus 13 juvenile offender cases in that period, an
average of 1.08 per month, or as in accordance with rules established by the Supreme Court of
Washington, whichever is lesser.
11. Compensation. The Contracting Attorney shall be paid as follows: The sum of seventy-two
thousand five hundred forty dollars ($72,540) per year paid in equal monthly installments on the
second Monday of the month.
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a Jury Trial: Shall be paid an additional $375 per diem for jury trial. The Contracting Attorney
shall provide invoices to the Kittitas County Department of Public Defense for all trial per diem
pay. Those invoices will be provided within 30 days of the last day of trial.
12. Policy as it refers to appointments: At the conclusion of the case, the Contracting Attorney is
deemed automatically withdrawn upon the filing of a notice of appeal or 30 days after the final
(appealable) decision of the Court, as the case may be. For purposes of this paragraph,
Contracting Attomey does not need to file a notice of withdrawal unless ordered by the court or
required by court rule. For the purposes ofjuvenile court proceedings not involving commitment
to the custody of the Department of Children, Youth and Families Juvenile Rehabilitation the
case is not completed until the conclusion of supervision.
13. Investigators. The Kittitas County Department of Public Defense will set aside sufficient funds
out of its budget to fund defense investigators. Public Defenders may file ex parte motions for
such investigator funds.
14. Costs. The Contracting Attorney shall receive copies of all pleadings hled in their client's
Superior Court case file in the Kittitas County Clerk's Office at no cost to the attorney. The
Clerk shall bill those expenses directly to the Kittitas County Department of Public Defense.
15. Experts. The Kittitas County Department of Public Defense will set aside suffrcient funds for
expert defense witnesses. Public Defenders may file ex parte motions for such expert witness
funds.
16. Extraordinary cases. If a public defender is assigned a case which requires an extraordinary
amount of time and preparation, Counsel may apply to the Kittitas County Department of Public
Defense in writing and subject to CRl1A, for such additional compensation as the Department
determines to be appropriate.
17. Conflict Counsel. The cost of conflict counsel shall be paid by the County and not by the
contracting attorney. If the Contracting Attomey or any employed or associated attorney is
precluded from representing a client because of a conflict which cannot be resolved by transfer
of the case between the Contracting Attomey and employed or associated counsel, the attorney
shall promptly notiff the Kittitas County Department of Public Defense by notice of withdrawal
and substitution of another attorney qualified under the terms of Paragraph 4. Conflict counsel
shall be paid at the same per case compensation rate as the Contracting Attomey. For the
purposes of this provision, a Conflict of Interest requiring any replacement of counsel shall be as
defined in the applicable RPCs (Rules of Professional Conduct) promulgated by the Washington
Supreme Court.
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18. Termination.
a. For Cause: Either party may terminate this Agreement immediately in the event the other party
fails to perform its obligations as described in this Agreement and such failure has not been
corrected to the reasonable satisfaction of the injured party in a timely manner after notice of
breach has been provided to the other party. Compensation for cases assigned prior to the
effective day of termination shall be as provided under this Agreement. The parties shall take
reasonable steps to mitigate their damages to the extent required by Washington State law and
either party may seek any remedy for breach they may be entitled to.
b. For Reasons Beyond the Parties' Control: Either party may terminate this Agreement
immediately without recourse by the other where performance is rendered impossible or
impracticable for reasons beyond such party's control, including but not limited to acts of nature,
war, riot, personal disability or superior governmental regulation or control.
c. Without Cause: Either party may terminate this Agreement without cause upon no less than 90
days written notice, which date of termination shall correspond to the last day of a calendar
month. The contracting attorney shall be responsible for completion of cases assigned prior to
the effective date of termination.
19. Amendments. No modification or amendment of the provisions of this Agreement shall be
effective unless in writing and signed by the authorized representative of the parties hereto.
20. Nondiscrimination. Contracting Attorney shall not discriminate or tolerate harassment on the
basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, age, or the
presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability in the administration or delivery of public
defense services. Counsel shall comply with all federal, state, and local non-discrimination
requirements.
21. Professional Responsibility. Contracting attorney shall adhere to the Rules of Professional
Conduct promulgated by the Washington Supreme Court and otherwise hold themselves up to
the highest ethical standard of professional responsibility and conduct.
22. Physical Office/Communications and Support Staff. The Contracting Attorney will maintain
a physical office or have access to an office that accommodates confidential meeting with
clients; maintain a postal address and adequate telephone service to ensure prompt response to
client contact and will provide sufficient support staff to provide for effective assistance of
counsel.
23. Entire Agreement. This instrument contains the entire Agreement between the parties and may
not be enlarged, modified, or altered except in writings signed by the parties.
24. Choice of Law and Venue. The parties agree that this contract shall be governed by Washington
State law and any action for breach or other remedy at law or equity shall be instituted only in
the Superior Cour of Kittitas County.
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25. Severance Clause. If any term of this contract shall be held to be invalid or unlawful, the
remainder of the agreement shall be deemed valid and enforceable as if such term were excised
tN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement on the 29th tlay of November
2023,
CP titU.^ap
Paul McBride, WSBA #47574
Contracting Attorney
< -'r'1
ADOPTED this J' ' day of December 2023
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
li.i i l ; I A$ i: il i. J l..i l' 1,'.l,iA$ l-.{ I N G 1-{.} t\
, Vice-Chair
ommrssloner
APPROVED AS TO FORM
Jesse Eldred, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney
B
La
ATTEST
TtrClerk of the Board- Julie Kjorsvik
n Deputy Clerk of the Board- Mandy Buchholz
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