Guidelines

1. Oregon Public Defense Services Commission – Delivery of Public Defense Services in Death Penalty Cases (2007)

Since developing its first Strategic Plan in December 2003, the Public Defense Services Commission (PDSC) has focused on strategies to accomplish its mission to deliver quality, cost-efficient public defense services in Oregon. Recognizing that increasing the quality of legal services also increases their costefficiency by reducing risks of error and the delay and expense associated with remedying errors, the Commission has developed strategies designed to improve the quality of public defense services and the systems across the state for delivering those services.

Foremost among those strategies is PDSC’s service delivery planning process, which is designed to evaluate and improve the operation of local public defense delivery systems. During 2004, 2005 and 2006, the Commission completed investigations of the local public defense systems in Benton, Clatsop, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Multnomah, Marion, Klamath, Yamhill, Hood River, Wasco, Gilliam and Sherman Counties. It also developed Service Delivery Plans in each of those counties to improve the operation of their public defense systems and the quality of the legal services provided by those systems. In addition, the PDSC reviews service delivery in specialized areas of practice. In 2006 the Commission completed reviews of service delivery in juvenile dependency and delinquency cases.

This report includes the results of the Commission’s review of the delivery of public defense services in death penalty cases

2. Public Defense Services Commission Qualification Standards For Court-Appointed Counsel to Represent Financially Eligible Persons at State Expense

The following standards are adopted by the Public Defense Services Commission pursuant to
ORS 151.216(1)(f)(F). The objective of these standards is to ensure the provision of competent and adequate legal representation to all financially eligible persons entitled to court-appointed counsel by state or federal constitution or statute.