HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgreements/Contracts - Public Defense (005)TO: County Officials
FROM: Larry Jefferson, Director
DATE: November 18, 2022
RE: Agreement for Blake Public Defense Funding for Calendar Year 2023
Washington State
Office of
Public
Defense
Thank you for your application fora 2023 State v. Blake public defense grant from the
Washington State Office of Public Defense (OPD). Enclosed for your review is the agreement
governing these funds. If you wish to accept these funds, please sign and return the attached
Agreement to ella.sharret-@opd..wa.gov no later than December 16, 2022. OPD will thereafter
send you a fully executed copy, and issue your county its funds after January 1, 2023 using the
Statewide Vendor Number you provided in your application. (Please notify us in writing us as
soon as possible if a different Statewide Vendor Number should be used.)
As you know, the Washington State Legislature appropriated these funds for OPD to help assist
counties with resentencing and/or vacating convictions under State v. Blake. See ingrossed
Substitute Senate Bill 5092, Chater
--334.. sec. 116,, Laws of 2021 On February 25, 2021. Because
these funds have a very specific purpose, the attached agreement includes corresponding
conditions. Please read the enclosed agreement carefully.
Additionally, you may be aware that there is funding available to counties, on a reimbursement
basis, through the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) for Blake* work. The OPD funds that
are the subject of this agreement are separate and distinct from the AOC Blake funds. Likewise,
you may also be receiving grant agreements at this time for OPD's 10.101 RCW funds for 2023.
These 10.101 funds are also separate and distinct from the funds that are the subject of this
agreement.
OPD looks forward to continuing to partner with you in this important and exciting work.
If you have any questions, please contact Grace O'Connor at Grace.Oconnor@or)d.wa.Rov or
360-586-3164 x 151.
E C E 1v 'ED
NOV 3 0 2022
GRANT COUNTY C0MM1SS10N±-_RSJ
I
Agreement No. GRT23006
FACE SHEET
WASHINGTON STATE OFFICE OF PUBLIC DEFENSE
1. Recipient 2. Recipient Representative
Grant County Brett Hill
PO Box 37. Director of Public Defense
Ephrata, WA 98823 Grant County Public Defense
PO Box 37
Ephrata, WA 98823
3. Office of Public Defense (OPD) 4. OPD Representative
711 Capitol Way South., Suite 106 Grace O'Connor
PO Box 40957 Managing Attorney
Olympia, WA 98504-0957 Office of Public Defense
711 Capitol Way South, Suite 106
PO Box 40957
Olympia, WA 98504-0957
5. Distribution Amount 6. Use Period
$90,947.00 January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023
7. Purpose
Distribution of funds for the purpose of assisting counties with public defense costs related to
resentencing and/or vacating sentences for defendants whose convictions or sentences are affected by
the State v. Blake decision, 481 P.3d 521(2021). See Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5092, Chapter 334,
sec. 116(5), Laws of 2021.
8. Acknowledgement, Incorporation by Reference, and Execution
The Office of Public Defense (OPD) and Recipient, as defined above, acknowledge and accept the terms
of this Agreement and attachments and execute this Agreement as of the date the last signatory signed.
The rights and obligations of both parties to this Agreement are governed by this Agreement and the
following other documents incorporated by reference: Special Terms and Conditions, General Terms
and Conditions, and Attachment A.
FOR RECIPIENT FOR OPD
Z9
Larry J e6so �n(Dec'14, 202215:57 PST)
Danny a/stone, BOCC'Chalr Larry Jefferson, Director
Name, Title
�r Dec 14, 2022
Date Date
SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. AGREEMENT MANAGEMENT
The Representative for each of the parties shall be responsible for and shall be the contactperson for
all communications regarding the performance of this Agreement.
a. The Representative for OPD and their contact information are identified on the Face Sheet of
this Agreement.
b. The Representative for Recipient and their contact information are identified on the Face
Sheet of this Agreement.
2. DISTRIBUTION AMOUNT
The Distribution Amount is ninety thousand nine hundred forty' -seven and 00/100 Dollars
($90,947.00) to be used for the purposes described in the USE OF FUNDS below.
3. -DEFINITIONS
a. "Blake Client(s)" means a person who is receiving public defense services and whose
conviction and/or sentence is affected by the State v. Blake decision, 197 Wn.2d 170, 481 P.3d
521(2021).
b. "Blake Cases" means post -conviction cases potentially impacted by State v. Blake to which
indigent counsel is assigned.
C. "Blake Attorney" means an attorney or attorneys assigned by Recipient to handle Blake cases
on behalf of Blake Clients,
d. "Supervised Blake Client(s)" means Blake Client(s) who are serving a sentence affected by the
Blake decision under the Washington State Department of Corrections, whether such
sentence is being served in a DOC facility or on community custody.
e. "Vacating convictions" means remedying an erroneous., unconstitutional, and void conviction.
4. USE OF FUNDS
a. Recipient shall use°'the funds to provide Post -conviction defense representation to Blake
Clients on Blake Cases. The Washington State Legislature, in Chapter 334, sec. 116(5), Laws of
.2021, expressly directed that these state funds be used to assist in resentencing and/or
vacating sentences under the State v. Blake decision,
b. Recipient is authorized to use the funds for the following purposes for defense representation
of Blake Clients on Blake Cases:
L Defense attorney compensation;
ii. Compensation of defense attorney support staff;
iii. Defense investigation;
iv. Defense attorney and defense attorney support staff compensation for time spent
reviewing and classifying Blake Clients and Blake Cases to ensure that individuals most
immediately needing relief are prioritized for appointment of counsel;
v. Managing/supervising attorney time supervising Blake attorneys and staff;
vi. Management.. attorney, and paralegal time to coordinate and deliver Blake efforts;•
vii. Mitigation
viii. Travel costs related to Blake defense work;
ix. Costs incurred by defense counsel for communicating with Blake Clients orpotential
Blake Clients in correctional facilities;
x. Translation or interpreter services for attorney-client communication or
communication with potential clients;
A. Costs associated with community outreach for Blake defense services; and
2
xii. Other related expenditures not listed in this section, but approved and authorized in
writing by OPD staff.
c. Recipient agrees that work performed by defense counsel on Blake Cases will be accounted
for in public defense and assigned counsel caseload calculations. Since Blake Cases may
require different amounts of time based on local practic'es, Recipient may count Blake cases
by case -weight, or the time spent on Blake cases can be factored into attorneys' caseloads.
Recipient agrees that if case -weighting, representation of Blake Clients for resentencing shall
count as at least one-third of a felony case for purposes of measuring defense attorney
caseloads and certifying compliance to the Washington Supreme Court's Standards for
Indigent Defense in Superior'Court Criminal Rule 3.1.
d. Recipient agrees that counsel will be assigned to indigent individuals currently serving
sentences affected by the State v. Blake decision (hereinafter, "Supervised Blake Clients").
Nothing in this clause should be read to limit aCounty's ability to provide provisional counsel
pursuant to RCW 10.101.020(4). Recipient further agrees that i) funds will be used to
compensate defense attorney time in H) regularly reviewing data provided by OPD to identify
Supervised Blake Clients serving sentences* imposed in Recipient county. Recipient agrees its
Blake attorney(s) will make reasonable efforts to contact Supervised Blake Clients following
such review with all reasonable speed to explain the individual's options for resentencing
and/or vacation under Blake and the process in Recipient County to request appointed
counsel and, where appropriate, bring a motion for resentencing or vacation on behalf of the
Supervised Blake Client. Recipient shall establish, in consultation with its Blake attorney(s), a
minimum number of Supervised Blake Clients who shall be contacted regarding resentencing
and/or vacation under this subsection each month. The requirement to contact Supervised
Blake Clients under this provision is satisfied when Recipient has made a written attempt to
contact all Supervised Blake Clients for whom contact information is'available, with
information about how to contact Recipient's Blake attorneys.
e. Recognizing that convictions can curtail individual liberty by deprivingpeople of important
interests like jobs and housing, Recipient agrees that these funds will be used for defense
costs related to vacating convictions imposed under former RCW 69.50.4013 andprecursor
statutes in Recipient's county for Blake Clients not-currently serving a sentence. Recipient
agrees to maintain a process, in consultation with its Blake attorneys, by which Blake Clients
may choose to i) petition for vacation order(s) pro se or ii) petition for vacation orders with
the assistance of defense counsel if requested. Nothing in this clauseprevents Blake
attorney(s) from working collaboratively with courts and prosecuting attorney offices to
establish such a process. Further, nothing in this clause prevents a Recipient's Blake
attorney(s) from establishing an additional process in coordination with courts and/or
prosecuting attorney offices by which defense agrees as to the form of vacation orders that
are then filed ex parte by the prosecutor for identified Blake Clients who have not yet initiated
contact with courts and/or prosecutors and/or defense.
Recipient shall use the funds in calendar year 2023. If Recipient is unable to use the funds by
December 31, 2023, Recipient shall notify OPD to determine what action needs to be taken.
Unused funds not expended at the end of the use period, or any subsequent amendment to
the use period, must be returned to OPD. Absent continued state funding, Recipient shall
ensure continued representation for all represented individuals upon conclusion of this
agreement.
g. Recipient shall deposit the funds check within 14 days of receipt.
p
S. OVERSIGHT
a. Recipient shall provide quarterly reports and a year-end u report
as Attachment A. P sing the templates attached
L Report schedule:
I. Quarter 1: January through March 2023 (due April 30 2023 April p •
2. Quarter 2:A �'
p through June 2023 (due July 31, 2023);
3. Quarter 3: July through September 2023 (due October 31 2023);
4. Quarter 4: October 2023 through December 2023due January ry 31, 2024); and
5. Year -End Report (due January 31, 2024)
ii. OPD reserves the right to revise the contents of Attachment A at any time.
b. Over the duration of the grant term, OPD may conduct site visits for purposes of ensuring the
use of grant funds for their specified purposes. At OPD's request,
a Grantee will assist in sched-
uling such site visits and inviting appropriate attendees such as, but not limited to: public de-
fense attorneys, Judicial officers, and county representatives.
G. ORDER OF PRECEDENCE
In the event of an inconsistency in this Agreement, the inconsistency
precedence in the following order: shall be resolved by giving
a. Applicable federal and state of Washington statutes, regulations,
b. Special Terms and Conditions and court rules
c. General Terms and Conditions
4
GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. ALL WRITINGS CONTAINED HEREIN
This Agreement contains all the terms and conditions agreed upon b the
understandings, oral or otherwise regardingp Y parties. No other
the subject matter of this Agreement shall be deemed to
exist or to bind any of the parties hereto.
2. AMENDMENTS
This Agreement may be amended by mutual agreement `
g of the parties. Such amendment shall not be
binding unless it is in writing and signed by personnel authorized to bind each of the parties.
3. AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT ADA OF 1990 PUBLIC LAW 101-336 also referred to as the
"ADA" 29 CFR Part 35.
Recipient must comply with the ADA, whichrovides co • v
p comprehensive civil rights protection to
individuals with disabilities in the areas of employment, public accommodate
government services, and telecommunications. ons, state and local
4. ASSIGNMENT
Neither this Agreement, nor any claim arising under this Agreement, g ment, shall be transferred or assigned
by Recipient without prior written consent of OPD.
5. ATTORNEY'S FEES
Unless expressly permitted under anotherrove '
p sion of the Agreement, in the event of litigation or
other action brought to enforce Agreement terms, each partyagrees to bear
g its awn attorney fees and
costs.
6. CONFORMANCE
If any provision of this Agreement violates any statute or rule of law of the
state of Washington, it is
considered modified to conform to that statute or rule of law.
7. ETHICS/CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
In performing under this Agreement, Recipient shall assure compliance with the Ethics in Public
Service, Chapter 42.52 RCW and any other applicable court rule or state or federal
ethics or conflicts of interest. law related to
8. GOVERNING LAW AND VENUE
This Agreement shall be construed and interpreted in accordance with the
laws of the state Of
Washington, and the venue of
any action brought hereunder shall be in the Superior Court for
Thurston County.
9. INDEMNIFICATION
r
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Recipient shall indemnify,defend, and hold harmless the state
of Washington, OPD, all other agencies of the state and all officers agents ent g sand employees of the state,
from and against all claims or damages for injuries to persons or property or death arising out of or
incident to the performance or failure to perform the Agreement.
10. LAWS
Recipient shall comply with all applicable laws, ordinances, codes regulations, � g s, court rules, policies of
local and state and -federal governments as now or hereafter amended.
11. NONCOMPLIANCE WITH NONDISCRIMINATION LAWS
During the performance of this Agreement, Recipient shall comply with all f
nondiscrimination laws regulations • • p Y federal., state, and local
g and policies. In the event of Recipient's non-compliance or refusal
to comply with any nondiscrimination law, regulation or Agreement policy, this A
canceled or terminated in whole or in part. y g nfi maybe rescinded,
12. RECAPTURE
In the event that Recipient fails to perform this Agreement in accordance
re with state laws, federal laws,
and/or the provisions of the Agreement, ement, OPD reserves the right to recapture funds in an amount to
compensate OPD for the noncompliance in addition to any other remedies available at
equity.
13. RECORDS MAINTENANCE
Recipient shall maintain all books, records, documents, data and other evidence relating to this
Agreement. Recipient shall retain
such records for a period of six (6) years following the end of the
Agreement period. If any litigation, claim or audit is started before the expiration an'
period, the records shall be retained untillitigation,p on of the six (6j year
all claims, or audit findings involving the records
have been finally resolved.
14. RICHT OF INSPECTION
At no additional cost all records relating to Recipient's performance under
subject at all reasonable times to in this Agreement shall be
inspection, review, and audit by OPD, the Office of the State Auditor
and state officials so authorized by law, in order to monitor and evaluate r
and quality assurance under this Agreement. performance, compliance,
g eement. Recipient shall provide access to its facilities for this
purpose.
15. SEVERABILITY
If any provision of this Agreement or an provision y provision of any document incorporated by reference shall
be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other rovisions of this his Agreement that can be given
effect without the invalid provision, if such remainder conforms to the r '
fundamental purpose of this A reement an equirements of law and the
g d to this end the provisions of this Agreement are declared
to be severable.
16. WAIVER
Waiver of any default or breach shall not be deemed to be a waiver of an
breach. Any waiver shall not be cons Y s ubsequent default or
trued to be a modification of the terms of this Agreement unless
stated to, be such in writing.
0
Attachment A
Washington State Office of Public Defense
2023* State v. Blake Funding Grant
Quarterly Report
All Blake funding grant recipients are required to submit a completed copy of this report to the
Washington State Office of Public Defense according to the following schedule:
• Quarter 1: January -March 2023 due April 30, 2023
• Quarter 2: April -June 2023 due July 31., 2023
• Quarter 3: July -September 2023 due October 31, 2023
• Quarter 4: October -December 2023 due January 31, 2024
If your county has remaining funds from 2022, reporting on those funds should be in-
cluded in this report in the space provided.
County:
Reporting
Quarter:
Date:
Contact Name.,
Title:
Email:
Phone:
Address:
1. How much of the 2023 Blake defense grant funds awarded have
been spent this quarter?
2. How much of the 2023 Blake defense grant funds remain to be
spent?
3. If you have funds remaining from your 2022 Blake defensegrant award, how much of
those funds remain to be spent? Please report "N/A'** if you did not carry 2022 funds
over to 2023. Please report "1$0.00," if you carried funds over but none remain.
4. In the space below or in an attachment, include a brief narrative description of the ser-
vices provided this quarter using the awarded funds.
Attachment A
S. Please provide the aggregate number of Blake cases completed this quarter for (*see
descriptions below for additional information):
a. Individuals on community custody:
b. Individuals incarcerated at DOC:
c. Individuals not serving a sentence:
L Does this number include vacation orderspre-
sented ex parte by the prosecuting
attorney's office without input from or notice to
defense?
Choose an item.
ii. Please use the space provided to add any infor-
mation You would like to share about your answer.
*For the purposes of this question:
> If the person's status changes from one category to another in the course of the
quarter, please report their status at the time they obtained
It an order for relief.
custod
For individuals represented on community y, a completed case" means the
individual obtained an order vacating the individual's drug conviction(s) and/or any
other relief applicable to reducing or striking the individual's term of community cus-
tody.
➢ For individuals represented who are incarcerated at DOC, a "completed casell means
the individual obtained a new sentencing order, OR the individual decided not to
move forward with resentencing, OR a defense attorney determined •the individual
was not eligible for a new sentence under Blake.
>- For individuals not serving a sentence, a It completed case" means the individual ob-
tained an order vacating the individual's drug conviction(s).
> If no cases were completed in a category, please report the number as 0 for that cat-
egory.
8
Attachment A
Washington State Office of Public Defense
2023 State v. Blake Funding Grant
Year -End Report
All Blake funding grant recipients are required to submit a completed copy of this report to
the Washington State Office of Public Defense by January 31, 2024. If your county had re-
maining funds from a 2022 Blake defense grant, these maybe considered "grant funds" for
the purposes of Question 1.
County:
Date:
Contact Name,
Title:
Email:
Phone:
Address:
1. Grant funds we ' re used for the following public defense expenses related specifically to
Blake cases (check all that apply):
❑ Staff attorney compensation (County Public Defense Agency)
El Contract attorney compensation
F1 Prioritizing Blake cases use of attorney time to ensure that individuals most im-
mediately impacted by court relief are •prioritized for appointment of counsel)
❑ Support staff compensation
Overhead expenses for Blake counsel
Describe:
❑ Attorney supervisors for Blake attorneys and staff
❑ Mitigation
E] Investigation
F] Communication costs
R Travel expenses
9
Attachment A
❑ Other
Describe:
2. Has an attorney in your county "triaged" every individual onyour •countyps list of incar-
cerated people to determine if they are eligible for resentencing under Blake? " Triage"
is defined as: reviewing each individual's current sentence(s) and calculating their Blake -
adjusted offender score to determine whether they may be eligible for a new sentence
and prioritizing eligible individuals for relief.
E] Yes [ No . I
A. If you answered "No," approximately how many individuals are left to triage?
Prison — Possession Plus: Prison — History:
3. What data did you use to triage individuals for Blake relief? Select all that apply.
D Dept. of Corrections data provided by OPD
E] Data from the Administrative Office of the Courts
❑ Other
Please describe:
4. Have you assigned counsel to every individual incarcerated in DOC with Blake cases in
your county?
El Yes E] No
A. If you answered "No," please explain.
S. How many public defense clients were resentenced under Blake in 2023?
6. How many public defense clients were released fromprison under Blake in 2023?
7. Does your court enter ex parte orders from prosecutors vacating Blake convictions with-
out input from the and/or notice to defense?
F-1 Yes [:]No
8. Please include samples of any Blake orders filed inyour county,
9. F What are the greatest challenges the county faced with Blake in 2023?
we
Attachment A
10. What worked well with Blake in 2023?
11. Has the COVID backlog impeded the processing of Blake cases? Please explain,
12. In the space below or in an attachment, please provide any additional information you
r would like to report not encompassed in the questions above,
11
Grant County Blake Agreement GRT23006
Final Audit Report 2022-12-14
"Grant County Blake Agreement GRT23006" History
Document created by Ella Sharrett (ella.sharrett@opd.wa.gov)
2022-12-14 - 6:57:59 PM GMT
P -it Document emailed to larry.jefferson@opd.wa.gov for signature
2022-12-14 - 6:58:36 PM GMT
Email viewed by larry.jefferson@opd.wa.gov
2022-12-14 - 9:30:25 PM GMT
Signer larry.jefferson@opd.wa.gov entered name at signing as Larry Jefferson
2022-12-14 - 11:57:56 PM GMT
Document e -signed by Larry Jefferson (larry.jefferson@opd.wa.gov)
Signature Date: 2022-12-14 - 11:57:58 PM GMT - Time Source: server
Vii' Agreement completed.
2022-12-14 - 11:57:58 PM GMT
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