§ 5253 - Powers and duties - Vermont Statutes

§ 5253. Powers and duties

(a) The defender general has the primary responsibility for providing needy persons with legal services under this chapter. He or she shall have also the duty of providing legal services to those persons in the custody of the commissioner of corrections. He or she may provide these services personally, through public defenders employed under subsection 5254(a) of this title, or through attorneys-at-law as provided by subsection (b) of this section. No other official or agency of the state may supervise the defender general or assign him duties in addition to those prescribed by this chapter. He or she may not practice law other than in the performance of his or her duties under this chapter or engage in any other occupation, except as provided in section 5203 of this title.

(b) When necessary or appropriate, the defender general may contract for the services of investigators or additional attorneys-at-law to provide services to needy persons covered by this chapter or to carry out any other function of the office of defender general provided that:

(1) The services performed shall meet the professional standards that this chapter prescribes for services performed by the office of the defender general;

(2) The services are subject to the supervision and control of the defender general, except as otherwise provided in section 5205 involving contracts providing for representation in cases involving conflict of interest; and

(3) The services contracted under this subsection shall be approved by the secretary of administration.

(c) The defender general shall supervise the training of all public defenders, and for this purpose he or she may establish a training course.

(d) The defender general shall consult and cooperate with interested professional groups with respect to the causes of crime, the development of effective means for discouraging crime, the rehabilitation of convicted criminals, the administration of criminal justice, and the administration of the office of the defender general.

(e) The defender general may appoint a deputy defender general with the approval of the governor, remove the deputy at his or her pleasure, and shall be responsible for the deputy's acts. The deputy shall perform such duties as the defender general shall direct, and in the absence or disability of the defender general perform the duties of the defender general. In case a vacancy occurs in the office of the defender general, the deputy shall assume and discharge the duties of such office until the vacancy is filled. (Added 1971, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. date, see note; amended 1973, No. 77, § 42; 1973, No. 266 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 1981, No. 146 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 8, 1982; 1987, No. 183 (Adj. Sess.), § 24.)