Vernon's Texas Rules Annotated - VTRA TX R MONTGOMERY CTY INDIG DEF Prompt Appointment of Counsel

A. Opportunity to Request Court Appointed Counsel: At the Magistrate's Probable Cause hearing (which shall be within 48 hours of arrest), and at any time thereafter while charges are pending against the defendant, each defendant shall be provided the opportunity to request court appointed counsel, if indigent. When a Defendant requests appointed counsel, the magistrate or Judge may assist, or refer the defendant to the AD for assistance, in completing the Attorney Request Form and the Application for Court Appointed Attorney, attached hereto as Exhibit “D”. The magistrate, Judge or AD may question the defendant under oath regarding the defendant's financial resources in lieu of, or in addition to the Application for Court Appointed Attorney.

B. Deadline to Appoint Counsel: Counsel shall be appointed as soon as possible to indigent defendants, but no later than the end of the first working day after the date on which the appointing authority receives the indigent defendant's request for court appointed counsel. Working day means Monday through Friday, excluding official state holidays. Counsel must be appointed whether or not a case has been filed in the trial court.

C. Deadline to Appoint Counsel for Incarcerated Defendants'. Where the defendant is incarcerated, the magistrate shall, no later than 24 hours after the defendant requests appointment of counsel, transmit or cause to be transmitted to the Office of Court Administration or Judge the forms requesting the appointment of counsel. Upon a determination of indigence, and no later than the end of the first working day after the date on which the OCA or the Judge receive the defendant's request for appointed counsel, the magistrate, Judge or AD shall appoint an attorney from the appropriate Public Appointment List using a system of rotation. The magistrate, Judge or the AD shall appoint the attorney from among the next five names on the Public Appointment List in the order in which the attorney's name appears on the List, unless the magistrate, Judge or AD Court makes a finding of good cause for appointing an attorney out of order.

D. Defendant Released from Custody Prior to Appointment of Counsel: If the indigent defendant is released from custody prior to the appointment of counsel, appointment of counsel is not required until the defendant's first court appearance or when adversarial judicial proceedings are initiated, whichever comes first.

E. Defendants Appearing Without Counsel: Defendants Appearing without Counsel shall be advised of the right to counsel and the procedures to request court appointed counsel. If a defendant appears without counsel in any adversary judicial proceeding that may result in punishment by confinement:

F. If an indigent defendant is arrested in another county based on this county's warrant, counsel will be appointed within 1 working day of the county's receipt of the request for counsel.

G. If a defendant is arrested in this county based on another county's warrant, counsel will be appointed for the defendant if, on the eleventh day after the arrest, the defendant is still in the county's custody.

H. Appointment of One Attorney: Where the defendant has felony and misdemeanor charges, the magistrate, Judge or the AD shall appoint one attorney for all charges from the List for the most serious offense. In the event a Defendant requests an attorney who is not qualified for the category of offense with which the Defendant is charged, the Defendant must sign and file Defendant's Motion to Appoint Attorney on Higher Category Case. The magistrate or Judge shall sign an Order Appointing/ Denying Attorney.

I. Notification of Appointment to Attorney: The magistrate, Judge or the AD shall notify the attorney of the appointment by the most expeditious means available and provide counsel with a copy of the Order Appointing Counsel and the last known location of the Defendant. If the attorney does not accept the appointment, the attorney shall immediately advise the magistrate, Judge or the AD and the above rotation process shall be repeated.