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Senate approves bill to give counties a role when judges replace contracted public defenders
Summary
The Utah Senate passed House Bill 128 to require notice and a hearing with the county attorney when a judge appoints a replacement public defender outside an existing county contract; supporters said the bill protects county budgets and discourages "attorney shopping."
The Utah Senate on Feb. 24 approved House Bill 128, a measure sponsored in the House by Representative Bodley that gives county attorneys a formal opportunity to be heard if a judge is asked to replace a contracted public defender.
Senator Lyle Hilliard, who presented the bill to the Senate, said the measure responds to county concern that courts sometimes appoint replacement counsel outside a county's contract and thereby expose county budgets to unplanned fees. "This bill was brought to Representative Bodley and myself by our county attorney concerned about an abuse or potential abuse of the county on the public defender system," Hilliard said, adding that the statute will make clear "the preference of the defendant for another attorney is not a conflict" and that the county attorney should have notice and input in the court hearing.
Supporters argued the bill would prevent what Senator Hilliard called "attorney shopping"—a situation in which a defendant's preference or a defense attorney's unilateral withdrawal leads to an immediate appointment of expensive out‑of‑contract counsel without county review. Opponents warned that the judge's constitutional discretion to appoint counsel cannot be fully removed; senators repeatedly noted that the bill does not strip judges of their authority to find a conflict and appoint different counsel, but it requires the county to be given notice so it can contest or explain whether a conflict exists.
Senators described several contract options counties can use—contract language to reduce payment obligations if a replacement counsel is appointed, backup public defender arrangements, or negotiated substitute counsel for large jurisdictions. After floor questions and debate, the Senate, under suspension of rules, read HB 128 for the second and third time and passed it. The chair announced: "House bill 128 shows 25 ayes on a's, 4 being absent." The bill will return to the House with amendments.
The bill text places procedural protections around judicial appointments of replacement counsel so counties can appear at any hearing where a conflict is raised and assert whether the record supports appointment of additional counsel outside existing contracts. No specific statutory citation was named on the floor.
