Specifications include, but are not limited to: The City of Herriman is accepting proposals from qualified law firms or individual attorneys to provide Public Defender services on a contractual basis in the Herriman City Justice Court. Contract services are estimated to commence on August 1, 2024. The City’s Public Defender’s responsibilities shall include, but are not limited to, the following: 1. Attending all scheduled court appearances. In the event of vacation or illness Public Defender is responsible for arranging coverage by another qualified attorney. 2. Acting as counsel available to all appointed defendants at all scheduled hearings on scheduled court days. Presently, the Public Defender has regular calendar appearances in the City of Herriman Justice Court on Monday and Wednesday. In addition, the Public Defender will have to make appearances at other times noticed by the Court. 3. Representing appointed defendants at pre-trial hearings/waiver hearings, evidentiary hearings, trials, sentencing, post-disposition proceedings, and any de novo appeals to the District Court. 4. Providing two attorneys to represent defendants at each pretrial/waiver hearing, every review/OSC, and every in-custody calendar as needed. 5. Completing a minimum of five (5) hours of continuing legal education (CLE) within each calendar year in courses relating to public defense practice. 6. Supervising attorneys working under and with the Public Defender to represent defendants to ensure the defendants receive competent legal representation. 7. Consulting with defendants prior to pretrial hearings. Appointment as the City’s Public Defender may require meetings with defendants at the Public Defender’s office or at the Salt Lake County Jail. 8. Responding to appointed defendant phone calls, texts, emails, etc. in a prompt and reasonable time frame. 9. Providing continuity of representation to defendants so that each defendant is represented by the same attorney during each court hearing and throughout every stage of the case. 10. Identifying conflicts of interest that the Public Defender has under the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct that prevent the Public Defender from ethically representing an indigent defendant. Proponent shall notify the City and the court of the conflict so that the court may appoint conflict counsel as appropriate.
