Montana Title 47. Access to Legal Services § 47-1-102. Purpose

(1) establish a statewide public defender system to provide effective assistance of counsel to indigent criminal defendants and other persons in civil cases who are entitled by law to assistance of counsel at public expense;

(2) ensure that the system is free from undue political interference and conflicts of interest;

(3) provide that public defender services are delivered by qualified and competent counsel in a manner that is fair and consistent throughout the state;

(4) establish a system that utilizes state employees, contracted services, or other methods of providing services in a manner that is responsive to and respective of regional and community needs and interests;

(5) ensure that adequate public funding of the statewide public defender system is provided and managed in a fiscally responsible manner; and

(6) ensure that clients of the statewide public defender system pay reasonable costs for services provided by the system based on the clients' financial ability to pay.