MS HB975

Creates a 9-member Mississippi Public Defender Oversight Council to establish statewide indigent defense standards, including caseload limits, compensation guidelines (capping assistant public defender salaries at 90% of comparable assistant district attorneys), and training requirements

Establishes a Division of District Public Defender in each circuit court district, with District Public Defenders appointed by the State Defender and required to have at least 5 years of criminal law experience and death penalty case qualifications

Creates an Indigent Appeals Division within the Office of State Public Defender to represent indigent persons convicted of felonies and juveniles adjudicated delinquent on appeal

Prohibits youth court children from waiving the right to counsel except in the presence of counsel after consultation, and requires counsel appointment in delinquency and child-in-need-of-supervision cases at intake

Revises indigent defense attorney compensation, allowing judges to exceed fee caps ($1,000 circuit court, $2,000 capital cases, $1,000 appeals) upon finding extraordinary circumstances, with disputes resolved by the new Oversight Council