HB379 Summary

• Amends the Code of Alabama to modify payment and fee structures for court-appointed attorneys in indigent defense cases across trial and appellate proceedings.

• Establishes hourly rate of $70 per hour for appointed counsel with maximum fee caps varying by felony class: Class A ($4,000), Class B ($3,000), Class C/D ($2,000), and juvenile cases ($2,500), with no limit for capital offenses or life without parole charges.

• Allows trial courts and the Director of Indigent Defense Services to waive maximum fees for good cause shown from October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2020, with no maximum for capital murder appeals during this period.

• Removes fee caps for appeals of capital murder convictions beginning October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2020.

• Establishes civil immunity protections for members of voluntary indigent defense advisory boards under the same immunities afforded to state agents, and clarifies that attorneys may be appointed to represent incapacitated persons prior to petition filing.