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Current Status Bill Number:View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.3810 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:House Introduced Date:20010327 Primary Sponsor:Fleming All Sponsors:Fleming Drafted Document Number:l:\council\bills\skb\18326som01.doc Residing Body:House Current Committee:Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee 26 HLCI Subject:Public defender corporations in counties, loss resulting from defender or employee, Board not liable; Torts, Courts History Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved ______ ________ ______________________________________ _______ ____________ House 20010327 Introduced, read first time, 26 HLCI referred to Committee Versions of This Bill
TO AMEND SECTION 17-3-60, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE PROCEDURES FOR ESTABLISHING PUBLIC DEFENDER CORPORATIONS IN COUNTIES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE DEFENDER CORPORATION IS NOT LIABLE FOR A LOSS RESULTING FROM AN ACT OR OMISSION OF A PUBLIC DEFENDER OR OTHER EMPLOYEE OF THE CORPORATION IF THE DEFENDER OR OTHER EMPLOYEE ACTED WITHIN THE SCOPE OF HIS OFFICIAL DUTIES AND IN GOOD FAITH.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 17-3-60 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 279 of 1998, is further amended to read:
"Section 17-3-60. (1) If a majority of the attorneys of any county admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of this State, whose principal office is located in the county, elect to establish a public defender system in such county they shall do so in accordance with the following:
(a) The bar of the county shall create an eleemosynary corporation to be known as the Defender Corporation of ____________________ County.
(b) The board of directors shall be composed of at least three but not more than ten attorneys of the county, to be elected or appointed by the bar of the county, and the board shall exercise all the ordinary and usual functions including the selection and dismissal of personnel.
(c) The county shall have one or more public defenders and as many assistant defenders as deemed necessary by the directors, not to exceed the number of assistant solicitors of the circuit in which the county is located.
(d) The public defender and assistant public defenders shall be licensed to practice law in this State. The public defender or the assistant public defenders may reside outside of the county in which they serve.
(e) The public defender and assistant public defenders shall give priority to their duties under the provisions of this chapter, and may engage in the private practice of law only if permitted to do so by the board herein named and only to the extent that it will not interfere with, or prevent performance of, their duties as public defenders or assistant defenders; provided, public defenders and assistant public defenders shall not represent persons charged with a criminal offense under the laws of this State in their private practice of law.
(f) Each public defender shall receive as compensation an amount not to exceed that received by the solicitor of the judicial circuit in which he is located. Provided, however, that in counties where the public defender is full time and without private practice and the circuit solicitor serving that county engages in private practice, the compensation of the public defender shall not exceed the salary provided by law for a full-time circuit solicitor. Assistant public defenders shall receive as compensation amounts not to exceed the compensation received by assistant solicitors serving the county in which the assistant defender is located. No additional state funds shall be used to provide for such compensation of public defenders and assistant public defenders above the appropriations authorized by Sections 17-3-70 and 17-3-80.
(g) The board may employ such other part-time or full-time personnel as practicable and necessary for the efficient discharge of duties under this chapter.
(h) The corporation established hereunder is authorized to receive funds from any legitimate source in furtherance of the aims of this chapter.
(i) Nothing herein contained is designed to prevent the combined bars of two or more adjoining counties from jointly creating a defender corporation to be known as the Defender Corporation of ____________________ and ____________________ counties. For the purposes of this subsection the public defender or the assistant public defenders may reside outside of the defender corporation area.
(2) The board of directors of a defender corporation established in accordance with the provisions of subsection (1) is not liable for a loss resulting from the acts or omissions of the public defender, assistant defenders, or other employees acting within the scope of their official duties pursuant to the provisions of this chapter when the acts or omissions are done or made in good faith and do not constitute gross negligence, recklessness, wilfulness, or wantonness."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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