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New Office of Indigent Legal Services begins appellate work; commission reports flat FY26 request
Summary
The commission created by last year’s House Bill 1057 told the Joint Appropriations Committee it has hired a chief defender and two staff attorneys to start a statewide appellate office and expects to produce savings for counties by centralizing appeals work.
The Commission on Indigent Legal Services and the newly formed Office of Indigent Legal Services told the Joint Appropriations Committee they are implementing the statewide indigent defense structure established in House Bill 1057 and now beginning appellate representation.
"The commission on Indigent Legal Services was created by the legislature last year in House Bill 1057 directly in response to two things: a constitutional obligation, and second, a vision from the chief justice," commission chair Neil Fulton said, citing the Sixth Amendment as the constitutional basis for providing counsel to those who cannot afford it.
Fulton said the commission's first operational step is a staffed statewide appellate office intended to produce efficiencies and higher‑quality appeals work. Chris Miles, the newly hired chief defender, told the committee the office projects a $2.1 million savings to counties by centralizing appellate functions and an estimated $600,000 savings to state taxpayers through reduced duplication and standardized protocols.
Miles said two experienced criminal defense attorneys have been hired and the office planned to begin taking direct appeals from the 2nd and 7th judicial circuits in February. "We do intend on taking cases here come February," he told the panel, and said the office will develop rules for attorney qualification, provide training to appointed private counsel, and staff regional satellite offices as capacity grows.
Fulton and Miles asked the committee to approve a flat budget request for FY26 and requested a modest reallocation — about $35,000 — from operating expenses into personal services to make salary offers more competitive for early hires. Fulton said the commission received a one‑time $3 million distribution to counties in the prior year to relieve county burdens and that the governor included FY26 funding for the commission in the executive budget.
Committee members asked about timelines and potential expansion. Miles said the office will start with appellate work and gradually expand regional capacity and training support for trial‑level appointed counsel. Fulton described the work as long‑term: "planting trees, not flowers," he said, noting the effort will take years to fully implement but should strengthen Sixth Amendment representation across South Dakota.
