AR HB1330

Amends Arkansas Code § 16-87-213 to allow courts to summarily appoint an attorney for defendants with mental incapacity that prevents them from answering indigency questions, provided the criminal proceeding carries the possibility of incarceration.

An appointed attorney may seek to be relieved as attorney of record if they subsequently question the defendant's indigency claim.

The certificate of indigency functions as a binding contractual agreement requiring defendants to pay court-ordered amounts both at initial attorney appointment and after case conclusion.

Court-imposed fees for public defender services range from $10 to $400 and may be waived if deemed too burdensome; fees are collected separately from additional attorney's fees.

Fees collected are deposited into a "Public Defender User Fees" account within the State Central Services Fund, accessible only to the Arkansas Public Defender Commission.