The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About25-226 - Amenemdnet A - Aspen Law Group - Conflict Public DefenseCity of Tukwila 6200 Southcenter Boulevard, Tukwila WA 98188 CONTRACT FOR SERVICES Amendment # 1 Agreement Number: 25-226(a) Council Approval N/A Between the City of Tukwila and Aspen Law Group That portion of Contract No. 25-226 between the City of Tukwila and Aspen Law Group is hereby amended as follows: Section 1: Scope and Schedule of Services to be Performed by Contractor. The Contractor shall perform those services described on Exhibit A attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference as if fully set forth. In performing such services, the Contractorshall at all times comply with all Federal, State, and local statutes, ordinances and rules applicable to the performance of such services and the handling of any funds used in connection therewith including the provisions of the Washington Supreme Court Standards for Indigent Defense and the public defense standards adopted by the City pursuant to TMC 2.70. Compliance with these standards goes to the essence of this Agreement. The Contractor shall request and obtain prior written approval from the City if the scope of services is to be modified in anyway. All other provisions of the contract shall remain in full force and effect. Section 2: Compensation and Method of Payment. The City shall pay the Contractor for services rendered according to the rate and method set forth on Exhibit B attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference. The total amount to be paid shall not exceed $50,000 per calendar year. Dated this 3rd---- day of June, 2026. CITY OF TUKWILA Signed by: CT — --�cLeo ------------------------ Thomas Mayor ATTEST/AUTH ENTICATED: ISigned by: rSEQCIB C3B937�17F\—. Jennifer Marshall, Acting City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: Signed by: — sE amrssEna- =------------------------ Office of the City Attorney CONTRACTOR: DocuSigned by: iX S('PAPA &S B7F75D7D17E2418...----------- Julia Simmons, WSBA No. 48712 EXHIBIT A -SCOPE OF SERVICES 1. In the event the City's designated public defender is unable to represent a defendant, the Contractor may be appointed by the Tukwila Municipal Court Judge or her designee to provide indigent defense services in accordance with the standards adopted by the City in TMC 2.70, the standards set forth by the Washington Supreme Court Standards for Indigent Defense, the Rules of Professional Conduct, Wilbur v. Mt. Vernon, other Initial related case law and applicable court rules defining the duties of counsel and the rights E_ of defendants in criminal cases. ----- --- 2. Services will include legal representation for appointed indigent criminal defendants charged with a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor from the date of appointment for pretrial, motions, trial, sentencing and review hearings for the remainder of the calendar year after the date of disposition. Any additional hearings necessitated in a new calendar year shall be considered new assignments and billed separately, as set Initial forth in Exhibit B, Section 7. The Contractor agrees to attempt to contact the client by phone, email or in-person, within 72 hours of notification of appointment. E_ 3. Pursuant to TMC 2.70.50 Standard 8, the Contractor shall maintain a case reporting and case management system that includes number & type of cases, attorney hours and disposition and shall be able to generate periodic reports regarding caseloads Initial generated under this Agreement for each Attorney and intern providing services under the Agreement as detailed in under Section 12. Reporting. E_ 4. If a defendant fails to appear (hereinafter "FTA") for a hearing and a warrant issues, the Contractor shall submit a Notice of Withdrawal. In such cases, the duty to the client and court is complete upon submission of the Notice of Withdrawal. If the Contractor has Initial had no contact with the FTA defendant, the Contractor shall not bill the City, and the F case will not be included in the Contractor's annual caseload. Initial 5. Jury Trials and Appeals shall be compensated as outlined in Exhibit B. L_ 6. The Contractor shall provide to the Tukwila Police Department a telephone number or numbers at which the Contractor can be reached twenty-four (24) hours each day for Initial "critical stage" advice to defendants during the course of police investigations and/or arrest for violations of City ordinances. E_ 7. Any counsel associated with or employed by the Contractor shall have the authority to perform the services called for herein and the Contractor may employ associated counsel to assist him or her at the Contractor's expense. The Contractor and any other attorneys retained pursuant to this section shall be admitted to practice pursuant to the rules of the Supreme Court of the State of Washington and shall have read and be fully familiar with the provisions of the Washington Supreme Court rule and the Initial standards adopted by the City pursuant to TMC 2.70, as well as the Wilbur v. Mt. Vernon decision. _ 25-226 Aspen Law Group Amendment 1 Page 2 of 7 EXHIBIT A- SCOPE OF SERVICES (CONTINUED) 8. Determination of a defendant's eligibility for public defense services under this Contract shall be determined by an independent screening process established by the City. Should the Contractor determine a defendant is not eligible for public defense Initial services prior to the establishment of the attorney/client privilege, the Contractor shall E_ advise the City to reconsider the screening of that particular individual. 9. The City shall provide the Contractor, at no cost, one copy of all discoverable material Initial concerning each assigned case. Such material shall include, where relevant, a copy of the abstract of the defendant's driving record. E_ 10. In the event representation of a defendant hereunder raises a conflict of interest such Initial that the Contractor cannot ethically represent the defendant, said defendant shall be referred back to the City for further assignment, without cost to the Contractor. E_ 11. Contractor agrees to attend seven (7) hours of criminal defense training each year. The training must be approved by the Washington State Office of Public Defense (OPD) in compliance with the OPD Improvement Program Training requirements. This requirement also applies to all associate counsel. Each Attorney will submit a copy of Initial their Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Credits transcript from the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) with the Annual Report. E_ 12. Reporting: Contractor agrees to submit the following reports: • Monthly Case Assignment List: Includes Cause Number, Name, Charges, Date of Assignment and Date of First Effort to Contact; submitted with the quarterly invoice. • Monthly Statistics Report: This report shall take substantially the same form as that attached hereto as Exhibit C and shall be submitted with the quarterly invoice; • Monthly Case Summary Disposition Report: This report shall take substantially the same form as that attached hereto as Exhibit D and shall be submitted with the quarterly invoice; • Certification of Compliance: The Contractor shall certify compliance with the standards required by CrRLJ 3.1. The Certification shall take substantially the same form as that attached hereto as Exhibit E and shall be filed at the time of appointment and quarterly with the Tukwila Municipal Court on the following dates: January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1, or the next court day, if the filing day falls on a weekend or holiday; • Annual Report: Detailing the number of other public defense contracts including Initial jurisdiction, the number and type of non-public defense cases handled and the total hours billed for non-public defense cases. E_ 13. Client Contact Prior to Court Hearings: Contact all clients 1-2 business days prior to their Initial court hearing to confirm access to and knowledge of how to utilize the necessary technology to appear before the court. E_ 25-226 Aspen Law Group Amendment 1 Page 3 of 7 EXHIBIT B - COMPENSATION AND METHOD OF PAYMENT Per Case. The City shall pay the Attorney the sum of $450.00 per case which includes $75 per month Office of Public Defense (OPD) grant funds to compensate for additional services provided as outlined in Exhibit A Section 13. This payment will include all case related appearances, including but not limited to, pretrial hearings motions, trial, sentencing and review hearings for the remainder of the calendar year. For cases that span multiple calendar years, Attorney shall be paid after meeting with the client and appearing in court and once per year for each additional calendar year during which the case is active and hearing(s) are held (excluding the calendar year during which the disposition was made). Initial 2. Possession and Public Use Cases: The City has applied for Simple Possession Advocacy and Representation (SPAR) grant funds for July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027. If awarded, Initial these funds will pay $550 per case for possession or public use of a controlled substance cases, until funds are expended. 3. Preauthorized Non -Routine Expenses. Non -routine case expenses requested by Attorney and preauthorized by order of the Tukwila Municipal Court. Non -Routine expenses include, but are not limited to: a. Medical and psychiatric evaluations; b. Expert witness fees and expenses; c. Interpreters; d. Investigation expenses; e. Medical, school, birth, DMV, 911, emergency communication recordings and logs, and other similar records when the cost of an individual item does not exceed $75; and Initial f. Any other non -routine expenses the Tukwila municipal court finds necessary and proper for the investigation, preparation, and presentation of a case. Initial 4. Jury Trials. The City shall pay the Attorney an additional sum of $300.00 for any case that goes to jury trial. - 5. Appeals. The City shall pay the Attorney an additional sum of seventy-five ($75.00) per Initial hour plus the cost of transcription services, for any matter assigned for appeal to the King County Superior Court. 6. The Attorney shall invoice the City quarterly for all cases where they have had contact with the client and made an appearance in court. The invoice shall delineate: • A list of the cases qualifying for payment for the quarter, including the defendant's name, case number, date of assignment, date of first court appearance and date of disposition, if applicable. Initial • Copies of invoices and/or receipts for miscellaneous charges shall be attached to the bill. • The Monthly Statistics Report and Monthly Case Summary Disposition Report for each month of the quarter must be submitted with the invoice. 25-226 Aspen Law Group Amendment 1 Page 4 of 7 E- 8. nitial 7. The City agrees to process the invoice for payment as soon as possible after receipt. Review Hearings held during the same calendar year as the disposition shall be included in the original assignment as set forth in Exhibit B, Section 1 above. Any additional hearings necessitated in a new calendar year shall be considered a new Initial assignment, which shall be billed separately and paid after completion of the first review hearing of the new calendar year where the defendant appears. 25-226 Aspen Law Group Amendment 1 Page 5 of 7 EXHIBIT C- PUBLIC DEFENSE MONTHLY REPORT MONTHLY STATISTICS REPORT Attorney Date CASESAPPOINTED New Filings Post -Conviction CLIENT CONTACT Jail Visits Out of Court Meetings Phone Calls Email Correspondence MOTIONS PRACTICE Motions RESOURCES UTILIZED Expert Consulted Immigration Case Assistance/Resources (WDA) Interpreter (out of court) Investigator Referred for Mental Health/Competency Evaluation Social Services Liaison COMPLAINTS Complaint Forms Received from Clients Complaints Filed with the WSBA TRAINING (in hours) WDA WACDL Other 25-226 Aspen Law Group Amendment 1 Page 6 of 7 Month EXHIBIT Q - MONTHLY CASE SUMMARY DISPOSITION REPORT Case Summary Disposition Report Attorney/Firm # of Jury or to of Contacts Cause Date of Date of Bench Appearances Outside of Investigator Expert Number Name Charges Assignment Disposition Disposition Trial Date Trial Tried in Court Court Usage Usage social Services Liaison Usage Interpreter Usage outside of Court 25-226 Aspen Law Group Amendment 1 Page 7 of 7