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House approves bill allowing counties to create in‑house indigent defense offices
Summary
The Utah House passed Senate Bill 149, which permits counties to establish in‑house criminal defender offices and to contract with other counties for defense services; the bill passed 69–0 after sponsor Representative Fisher said it offers counties budget predictability and improved indigent defense.
The Utah House on the floor approved Senate Bill 149, a measure allowing counties to create in‑house criminal defender offices and to contract with one another to share indigent defense services. Representative Fisher, speaking for the bill, said it is permissive and requested by counties.
Under the constitution, counties must provide legal defense for indigent criminal defendants, Representative Fisher said, and ‘‘Any county who wishes to set up a department for indigent criminal defense may set 1 up.’’ He argued the change should improve defense for indigent cases and allow a more predictable county budget.
Representative Litnick asked whether the proposal could create conflicts of interest where a county also acts as prosecutor in high‑profile cases and whether the bill contains reporting or safeguards to prevent political pressure on defense counsel. Representative Fisher said the model would require ‘‘firewalls’’ within the system to protect independent defense, but said he was not aware of a reporting mechanism in the bill to track how the model performs over time.
Summation was waived and the House recorded a vote of 69 yes, 0 no. The bill was announced as passed and ordered to be signed by the Speaker and returned to the Senate for final action.
