REAUREMENT ONE: CONDUCT
PROMPT
AND ACCURATE
ARTICLE 15.17
PROCEEDTNGSj Tha
magist/s,te
must
ensure that
reasonaDle ass,SlancE
in ampleting forms
necessdry
to
request counsel
is
ptovided
to the a@used.
The El Paso Judiciary updated lhe magistrate
wamings which set out the
procedure
to
request an appointed attorney.
The
magislrate
will infom the accused of the following
procedures
afler advising him/her of the right to request
court appointed counsel if they ara
unable
to hire an attomey. The magisfate
preslding
over the
15.17 hearing
will advise the
defendant of lhe following,
in addition to the r6quir6d statutory
rights:
1. You will be
required to complete a writt€n application
that asks
about
your
income
and financials
to determine if
you qualfi
for a court
appointed attomey. You must
meet indigent standards in order to
gualify
for a coun
appointed attorney.
2. An eligibility officer will assist
you
with the application.
The application must be
verified under
oath and signed
by
you.
lf
you
remain in custody,
an eligibility
ofiicer
will contact
you
and take the application.
lf
you
bond out before an eligibility
officer
takes
your
application,
you
must apply for appointed counsel
at
the
courthouse within
24 hours.
3. You must answer these flnanclal
qu€stions
truthfully
because ff
you
lie,
you
may be
proseculed
for
perjury.
4. lf
you
qualify
for a court appointed attomey, his/her
name and
phone
number
will
be
given
to
you.
5. He/she should contact
you
within 24 hours of appointment.
6. lt is
possible
that
you
may be
required to
pay
El
Paso County any money that is
spent on
your
defense.
The updated vercion
of the 15.17 warnings will be distributed to
all
the magistrates of El
Paso
Coung. The
magistrate will inquire whether the anestee wishes to
r€quest
a court
appointed
aftomey and
the
answer will be noted on the document.
The
county
jail
will then
input the request as
part
of tho booking
process.
A report
will be
generated
every moming of all
defendants
that were booked the day before and reguested court appointed counsel.
lf
the
accused is in custody, an eligibility officer will take an application
at the
jail
either in
person
or by
phone.
lf the
accused
was
given
his/her 15.17 magistrate wamings and requested court
appointed counsel but
bonded
out of
the
County Jail
befole an eligibility officer completed an
appllcatlon, the accused is
provided
instructlons
on the
procedure
to
requGt court appointed
counsel.
(See
Forms: Notice To Defendants Charged with a
C/ass A
or
B
Misdemeanor
or
Felony Released Prlor to Appointment of Lawye). The notice
informs the defendant where to
report and lists the necessary
documents
that ne€d to
be
hought
in.
REQUIREMENT
TWO: DETERMINE INDIGENCE ACCORDING
TO
STANDARDS
DIRECTED
BY
THE
INDIGENT
DEFENSE
PLAN: The Courtswere wtsideringfactors not allowed under
CCP
26.U(m) when determining whether a delendant is indigent.
ThE
Texas
Code
of Criminal Procedure ailicle 26.04(m)
alloun
the Courts
to consider
the defendant's income, source of income, assets,
property
ourned, outstanding obligations,