Criminal Fund - Court Appointed Counsel Fees

Item 32 #2c

Language
Page 19, line 2, strike "$85,719,167" and insert "$87,019,167".
Page 19, line 2, strike "$86,969,167" and insert "$88,269,167".
Page 19, after line 44, insert:
"E.1. General fund appropriations for Other Court Costs and Allowances (Criminal Fund) total $88,715,432 the first year and $90,165,432 the second year in this item and Items 25, 31, 33, 34 and 35.  Included within this appropriation is $1,300,000 each year, which is intended to enable the court to fully fund the existing statutory caps on compensation applicable to attorneys appointed by the court to defend criminal charges.
2. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia shall determine how the amounts appropriated to the Criminal Fund will be allocated, consistent with statutory provisions in the Code of Virginia.  It is the intent of the General Assembly that funds within these appropriations be used to fund fully the statutory caps on compensation applicable to attorneys appointed by the court to defend criminal charges.  Furthermore, it is the intent of the General Assembly that, should this appropriation not be sufficient to fund fully all of the statutory caps on compensation as established by § 19.2-163, Code of Virginia, that this appropriation shall be applied first to fund fully the statutory caps for the most serious noncapital felonies and then, should funds still remain in this appropriation, to the other statutory caps, in declining order of the severity of the charges to which each cap is applicable."

Explanation
(This amendment provides $1.3 million each year from the general fund to fully fund court-appointed attorney fees for indigent clients in criminal cases, up to the caps as specified in § 19.2-163, Code of Virginia. This amendment also directs the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia to determine how these additional funds are to be allocated.)