SB0521 Engrossed LRB095 07144 RLC 27271 b

1     AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The State Appellate Defender Act is amended by
5 changing Section 10 as follows:
 
6     (725 ILCS 105/10)  (from Ch. 38, par. 208-10)
7     Sec. 10. Powers and duties of State Appellate Defender.
8     (a) The State Appellate Defender shall represent indigent
9 persons on appeal in criminal and delinquent minor proceedings,
10 when appointed to do so by a court under a Supreme Court Rule
11 or law of this State.
12     (b) The State Appellate Defender shall submit a budget for
13 the approval of the State Appellate Defender Commission.
14     (c) The State Appellate Defender may:
15         (1) maintain a panel of private attorneys available to
16     serve as counsel on a case basis;
17         (2) establish programs, alone or in conjunction with
18     law schools, for the purpose of utilizing volunteer law
19     students as legal assistants;
20         (3) cooperate and consult with state agencies,
21     professional associations, and other groups concerning the
22     causes of criminal conduct, the rehabilitation and
23     correction of persons charged with and convicted of crime,

 

 

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1     the administration of criminal justice, and, in counties of
2     less than 1,000,000 population, study, design, develop and
3     implement model systems for the delivery of trial level
4     defender services, and make an annual report to the General
5     Assembly;
6         (4) hire investigators to provide investigative
7     services to appointed counsel and county public defenders;
8         (5) in cases in which a death sentence is an authorized
9     disposition, provide trial counsel with legal advice and
10     the assistance of expert witnesses, investigators, and
11     mitigation specialists from funds appropriated to the
12     State Appellate Defender specifically for that purpose by
13     the General Assembly. The Office of State Appellate
14     Defender shall not be appointed to serve as trial counsel
15     in capital cases; .
16         (6) develop a Juvenile Defender Resource Center to: (i)
17     study, design, develop, and implement model systems for the
18     delivery of trial level defender services for juveniles in
19     the justice system; (ii) in cases in which a sentence of
20     incarceration or an adult sentence, or both, is an
21     authorized disposition, provide trial counsel with legal
22     advice and the assistance of expert witnesses and
23     investigators from funds appropriated to the Office of the
24     State Appellate Defender by the General Assembly
25     specifically for that purpose; (iii) develop and provide
26     training to public defenders on juvenile justice issues,

 

 

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1     utilizing resources including the State and local bar
2     associations, the Illinois Public Defender Association,
3     law schools, the Midwest Juvenile Defender Center, and pro
4     bono efforts by law firms; and (iv) make an annual report
5     to the General Assembly.
6     Investigators employed by the Death Penalty Trial
7 Assistance and Capital Litigation Division of the State
8 Appellate Defender shall be authorized to inquire through the
9 Illinois State Police or local law enforcement with the Law
10 Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS) under Section
11 2605-375 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois to
12 ascertain whether their potential witnesses have a criminal
13 background, including: (i) warrants; (ii) arrests; (iii)
14 convictions; and (iv) officer safety information. This
15 authorization applies only to information held on the State
16 level and shall be used only to protect the personal safety of
17 the investigators. Any information that is obtained through
18 this inquiry may not be disclosed by the investigators.
19     (d) For each State fiscal year, the State Appellate
20 Defender shall appear before the General Assembly and request
21 appropriations to be made from the Capital Litigation Trust
22 Fund to the State Treasurer for the purpose of providing
23 defense assistance in capital cases outside of Cook County and
24 for expenses incurred by the State Appellate Defender in
25 representing petitioners in capital cases in post-conviction
26 proceedings under Article 122 of the Code of Criminal Procedure

 

 

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1 of 1963 and in relation to petitions filed under Section 2-1401
2 of the Code of Civil Procedure in relation to capital cases and
3 for the representation of those petitioners by attorneys
4 approved by or contracted with the State Appellate Defender.
5 The State Appellate Defender may appear before the General
6 Assembly at other times during the State's fiscal year to
7 request supplemental appropriations from the Trust Fund to the
8 State Treasurer.
9     (e) The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly
10 shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the
11 Speaker, the Minority Leader and the Clerk of the House of
12 Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader and the
13 Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Research Unit, as
14 required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization
15 Act and filing such additional copies with the State Government
16 Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly as is
17 required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State Library
18 Act.
19 (Source: P.A. 93-972, eff. 8-20-04; 93-1011, eff. 1-1-05;
20 94-340, eff. 1-1-06.)
 
21     Section 10. The State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor's
22 Act is amended by adding Section 4.11 as follows:
 
23     (725 ILCS 210/4.11 new)
24     Sec. 4.11. Juvenile Justice Resource Center. The Office may

 

 

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1 develop a Juvenile Justice Resource Center to: (i) study,
2 design, develop, and implement model systems for the
3 adjudication of juveniles in the justice system; (ii) in cases
4 in which a sentence of incarceration or an adult sentence, or
5 both, is an authorized disposition, provide trial counsel with
6 legal advice and the assistance of expert witnesses and
7 investigators from funds appropriated to the Office by the
8 General Assembly specifically for that purpose; (iii) develop
9 and provide training to assistant State's Attorneys on juvenile
10 justice issues, and, (iv) make an annual report to the General
11 Assembly.