The Louisiana Public Defender Board approved three contracts for capital and post-conviction representation and support, including renewal of the Louisiana Crisis Assistance Center (LCAC) and two post-conviction programs, by a board vote at the meeting.

State Public Defender Raymond Starnes recommended renewing the contracts and said the amounts reflect existing program needs and limited in-state capacity to litigate capital cases. The approved contracts and recommended amounts discussed in the meeting were: LCAC at $1,390,000; a Loyola Law School capital direct-appeal/post-conviction contract at $1,050,000; and the Marley Moo Center for Justice (post-conviction capital work) at $1,265,035. The board approved the three contracts; the meeting record shows one abstention.

Why it matters: Board approval authorizes continuation of a portion of Louisiana's capital-defense infrastructure. Starnes told the board recent legislation will increase post-conviction workload and that the legislature provided over $4 million to address those costs; he said those funds require separate access procedures through the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.

What the board approved: The board motion to approve the three contracts carried; the chair said he would execute the required resolutions. A board member abstained from the vote but did not oppose the contracts.

Context from the meeting: Starnes described consolidation in the capital defense network and said his office will route program monies through district offices for administration. He also referenced an attorney-general opinion in the meeting packet that, in his account, supports the administrative structure for capital defense programs and does not require separate board approval for every contract in that administrative pathway.

Quotations: "They are a necessary part of the capacity, what limited capacity we do have to litigate capital cases at the trial level," Raymond Starnes said of the outside capital defense programs.

Ending: The board approved the three contracts and instructed staff to execute the requisite resolutions; the board recorded one abstention on the approval vote.