PUBLIC DEFENDER 2023 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
The Alpine County Board of Supervisors
invites
proposals from attorneys to provide public defender services to
indigent
defendants in all felony and misdemeanor cases, LPS and probate conservatorships, violation of misdemeanor or felony
probation,
extradition, contempt of court, and juvenile cases
filed under
Welfare and
Institutions
Code Sections 601 or 602. The County
is
seeking
to
contract with a firm, association, or consortium of attorneys who will provide primary, and at least two
lev
e
ls
of conflict counsel,
in
felony and misdemeanor cases. The County asks
that proposals include
methods to
reduce
costs to the County necessitated by the retention of attorneys outside of the contract due
to
conflicts.
Up to one week prior to the submission deadline, Bidder may submit specific questions about this RFP in writing or e-mail to:
Sarah Simis
75 Diamond Valley Rd
Markleeville, CA 96120
ssimis@alpinecountyca.gov
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Bids must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. on May 8, 2023 by the Alpine County Clerk, 99 Water St, Markleeville, CA 96120, at which time they will be publicly opened and read.
Only proposals for both primary and conflict coverage, as specified above, will be accepted. The structure of any association of attorneys to which the contract may be awarded must preclude any
inherent
secondary conflicts of
interest.
For your reference,
the
approximate average
number
of cases is 64 criminal assignments (Felony and Misdemeanors) and 4 Juvenile Delinquency cases.
The total amount paid under the public defender contract is $65,000 per year. (This figure does not include additional compensation on complex
litigation
cases such as homicide,
nor
does it
include
other
litigation
expenses such as expert witness services,
language
translators,
laboratory
analysis, and other forensic services.)
All proposals will be evaluated by a review committee consisting of the Judges of the Superior Court, County Counsel, and the County Administrative Officer. Proposals will be treated confidentially to the extent permitted by law. The review committee members are subject to change. The selection of a contractor or contractors will be based upon relative overall capability to provide a competent level of service at a cost considered reasonable, without requirement for acceptance of the lowest bid. The following factors will be evaluated:
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Qualifications, experience, and skills of the attorney, and competency of support staff. Substantial criminal law experience is required (minimum five years), with three years representing primarily clients charged with felonies.
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Proposed method of providing indigent defense services and the proposer's understanding of legal and technical issues related to effectively providing indigent defense services.
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Capability to provide responsive and quality legal defense representation, without creating conflicts of interest.
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Ability to represent best interest clients while maintaining positive professional relations with opposing counsel, Courts, County staff and public.
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Cost and any cost containment strategies proposed.
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Quality of RFP response and overall approach.
The County reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, or to cancel the RFP. Proposers must certify the truth and accuracy of the content of their respective proposals and fully comply with all requirements. False, incomplete, or unresponsive statements may be cause for its rejection. The cost of developing a proposal is the sole responsibility of the proposer and is not chargeable to the Court or the County. All materials submitted in response to this RFP become the property of the County and will become public record after an award has been made or the RFP process has been terminated, except those materials which are labeled proprietary.
MAJOR CONTRACT PROVISIONS
Term
The term of the resultant agreements from this RFP shall be for three (3) years, with an optional three-year extension only by mutual agreement of both parties.
Scope of Work
Represent the following, when appointed by the Court:
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All persons whom the Court has deemed indigent and who are charged with the commission of a misdemeanor or felony triable in any court in the County;
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All minors charged with a violation of Welfare and Institutions Code Section 601 or Section 602;
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All persons the Court has deemed indigent, and for whom a petition for the appointment of a Lanterman Petris Short ("LPS") conservatorship has been filed;
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All persons the Court has deemed indigent seeking writs or appeals to the Superior Court in the type of cases described within this RFP;
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All persons the Court has deemed indigent and who are charged with a violation of misdemeanor probation.
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All persons the Court has deemed indigent and who are charged with a violation of felony probation.
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All persons the Court has deemed indigent in probate conservatorships and in which the Court appoints counsel.
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All persons the Court has deemed indigent and subject to extradition.
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All persons the Court has deemed indigent and subject to contempt.
Performance Requirements
The contractor shall provide competent legal representation of indigent defendants and other parties for whom the contractor is appointed by the Court, consistent with constitutional professional standards and standards within the industry. Specifically, the following duties and responsibility of counsel as appointed by the Court shall be observed:
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Conduct thorough and timely legal investigation, preparation and consultation.
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Initiate timely action to protect clients' legal rights.
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Be present at all required court appearances.
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Prepare for jury selection, examination of witnesses, submission of instructions, and presentation of argument at trial.
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Know and explore sentencing alternatives.
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Advise the client concerning appeals.
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Manage total caseload such that all duties and responsibilities set forth above can be accomplished.
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Comply with the Rules of Professional Conduct and all applicable ethical rules.
Contract Management
Contractor will be required to maintain office hours in Markleeville, CA and be available to meet with clients.
Contractor shall prepare and maintain time records sufficient to enable the County to determine the cost of representing each person represented by it. Contractor shall provide the Court with the total time on each case after final disposition or upon request of the Court or the County, if disposition is not completed in a timely manner or due to defendant's failure to appear.
Contractor shall provide the County quarterly report of services rendered during the previous calendar quarter, which shall include: The number of new cases by type; the number of open cases by type; the number of cases closed by type, including the disposition of cases closed, and the type of disposition; and the number of cases for which the contractor has declared a conflict.
Contractor shall be solely responsible for providing all office furniture, equipment, supplies, secretaries, clerks, attorneys, and other persons necessary to perform the contract and shall be solely responsible for all costs and expenses incurred in performing the contract including any professional educational and training expenses, except for any court reporters’ fees, filing fees, transcript fees, and witness fees.
Contractor shall maintain adequate office space open during normal business hours for appointments with clients or potential clients who are not in custody. Contractor shall maintain published office addresses and telephone numbers and telephone answering services or devices for the taking of telephone messages during non-business hours. In-custody clients shall be interviewed within 72 hours, excluding weekends and holidays, of contractor’s appointment. Out of custody clients shall be interviewed within five business days of contractor’s appointment. In all cases, contractor shall personally speak with the client prior to the date of the first court appearance following contractor's appointment by the Court.
Contractor shall keep all Courts informed of the status of pending cases for which it had been appointed and shall advise the Court at the earliest possible time as to whether cases will be settled or go to trial, whether continuances are needed, whether or when interpreters will be needed, and other such matters bearing on the scheduling of cases before the Courts.
Contractor may engage in the private practice of law, including the defense of those charged with crimes or involved in juvenile court proceedings, provided that no private client shall be accepted which may cause a conflict of interest to arise whereby the contractor would not be able to represent any indigent who would otherwise be eligible for services under this contract.
INDEMNITY AND INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS
These are the Indemnity and Insurance Requirements for Contractors providing services or supplies to Alpine County (County). By agreeing to perform the work or submitting a proposal, you verify that you comply with and agree to be bound by these requirements. If any additional Contract documents are executed, the actual Indemnity language and Insurance Requirements may include additional provisions as deemed appropriate by Entity, and if a conflict occurs, the broader requirements shall prevail.
You should check with your Insurance advisors to verify compliance and determine if additional coverage or limits may be needed to adequately insure your obligations under this agreement. These are the minimum required and do not in any way represent or imply that such coverage is sufficient to adequately cover the Contractor’s liability under this agreement. The full coverage and limits of Insurance carried by or available to the Contractor shall be available to the County and these insurance requirements shall not in any way act to reduce coverage that is broader or includes higher limits than those required. The Insurance obligations under this agreement shall be either: 1—all the Insurance coverage and limits carried by or available to the Contractor; or 2—the minimum Insurance requirements shown in this agreement; whichever is greater. Any Insurance proceeds in excess of the specified minimum limits and coverage required, which are applicable to a given loss, shall be available to the County.
INDEMNIFICATION:
Contractor agrees to indemnify, defend at its own expense, and hold County harmless from any and all liabilities, claims, losses, damages, or expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees, arising from all acts or omissions to act of Contractor or its officers, agents, or employees in rendering services under this agreement; excluding, however, such liabilities, claims, losses, damages, or expenses arising from County’s sole negligence or willful misconduct.
These Indemnification provisions are independent of and shall not in any way be limited by the Insurance requirements of this agreement.
INSURANCE COVERAGE AND LIMITS:
Liability coverage shall be at least as broad as Insurance Services Office (ISO) CGL Policy CG 00 01. No modifications or endorsements are allowed that would reduce, limit, restrict, or exclude coverage under the standard unmodified ISO CGL policy coverages. County acceptance or approval of Insurance required by this agreement does not in any way relieve the Contractor from liability under this agreement. Minimum Coverage Requirements are:
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The Contractor shall maintain a commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policy [Insurance Services Office Form CG 00 01] covering CGL on an occurrence basis, including products and completed operations, property damage bodily injury and personal & advertising injury with limits in the amount of $ 2,000,000, and a general aggregate limit of $4,000,000.
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Professional/ Malpractice/ Errors & Omissions coverage in the amount of $2,000,000 per occurrence or claim, $4,000,000 aggregate.
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Contractor shall also provide comprehensive business or commercial automobile liability coverage including non-owned and hired automobile liability in the amount of $1,000,000 per accident for bodily injury and property damage. Coverage shall be at least as broad as ISO Form CA0001 (Code 1), or if Contractor has no owned autos, hired, (Code 8) and non-owned autos (Code 9).
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A copy of the certificates evidencing Workers’ Compensation insurance with policy limits of at least $1,000,000 per accident for bodily injury or disease, shall be provided to County prior to commencement of work, or a signed County Workers’ Compensation Exemption form.
PROPOSAL FORMAT AND SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
The proposal must include the following sections:
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Cover sheet which includes identification information, statement of compliance and signature, as prescribed in Form A: PROPOSAL COVER SHEET (attached).
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Detailed narrative that describes your organization and methodology for providing services (see below for required information).
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Contract price on annual basis, to be paid in monthly installments, which includes investigator services. Also provide a contract price on an annual basis, to be paid in monthly installments which does not provide for investigator services.
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A proposed Contract for Public Defense Services which includes the Major Contract Provisions above. The County reserves the right to require different or additional contract provisions prior to executing the final contract.
All proposals must be submitted in a sealed envelope and clearly marked.
“PROPOSAL: INDIGENT DEFENSE SERVICES”
An original and five copies must be provided
. Proposals must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. 5/8/2023
Hand Delivery:
Attn: Alpine County Clerk
Proposal: Indigent Defense Services
99 Water Street
Markleeville, CA 96120
Mail Delivery:
Attn: Alpine County Clerk
Proposal: Indigent Defense Services
PO Box 158
Markleeville, CA 96120
Proposals that are submitted by mail and received after the submission deadline will not be accepted.
The following information must be provided in the narrative section of the proposal:
Organization and qualifications
:
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State whether the proposer is an individual, partnership, consortium or corporation; a consortium must provide a letter or letters of intent and commitment by consortium members to the proposal and designation of lead firm and representative who is authorized to represent consortium members in negotiations; a corporation may be required before the contract is awarded to furnish a certificate as to its corporate existence and satisfactory evidence as to the officer(s) authorized to execute the contract on behalf of the corporation.
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Provide name(s) of the lead attorney(s) who will assume responsibility for the execution and the obligations of the contract.
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List names of all attorneys to be assigned, employed or sub-contracted under the contract.
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Provide resumes of professional and academic history, including area(s) of specialization, and California State Bar number for all attorneys listed.
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List names of investigative staff who will assist in legal defense services, if any.
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Include descriptions of any similar or related contracts or grants under which the proposer has provided services.
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Include any other supportive materials, such as copies of letters indicating cooperative agreements between firms and/or partnerships relative to the delivery of services.
Service methodology and program approach:
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Describe how this program would be administered: how you or your company/firm would interact with the Court, their administration and County personnel to ensure proper on-going administration of this service.
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Describe how you would manage and supervise staff associated with this service; indicate the name and/or title of management and supervisory staff, if any, their duties and responsibilities.
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Discuss your case management philosophy; proposed case assignment procedures and criteria; proposed method of allocation and managing personnel resources to ensure timely delivery of services and minimal delays, continuance, appeals and overturned cases; describe your proposed distribution of conflict cases amongst lead and associate attorneys: how many and what type of cases would be assigned to various attorneys and managed from beginning to end.
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Discuss the potential for situations where the indigent defense services contractor may become involved in conflicts of interest and indicate plans to address potential conflicts of interest; explain in detail how conflicts of interest will be avoided with respect to the contractor's engagement in the private practice of law outside of the agreement with the County (in the event that the contractor cannot demonstrate the ability to avoid conflicts of interest, restrictions may be placed on the private practice of law).
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Discuss how you envision handling conflict cases that require the retention of counsel outside of the contract. Describe how you will minimize the cost to the County.
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Describe how you propose to provide support services for your attorneys, such as clerical support, research support (law library or on-line research services, research attorney/law clerk), report preparation copying and printing services, office space, equipment such as computer hardware and software, copiers, etc. for the above staff; describe which of those support services are available now in your operation(s) and specify that which would have to be obtained if your proposal is accepted; describe how you would provide the initial training for your staff in relationship to the services to be provided under this proposal and explain how you would provide for their ongoing training.
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Describe fully the proposed ancillary services you would employ in preparation for the defense of your clients; identify any services that you can now provide with your existing staff and specify those services you would retain under contract.
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Detail any other proposed services, personnel or operational costs you feel are necessary in order to provide indigent defense services.
Additional material may be submitted with the proposal as appendices. Sample reports and references are encouraged.
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PROPOSAL: INDIGENT DEFENSE SERVICES
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FORM A: PROPOSAL COVER SHEET
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IDENTIFICATION
Name of Proposer: Address:
City
Zip
Telephon
e No.: FAX:
Authorized representative and/or contact
Name:
Address:
City Zip
Telephon
e No.: FAX:
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STATEMENT OF CERTIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE
The undersigned certifies the truth and accuracy of the content of this proposal and agrees to furnish the services stipulated at the prices and terms stated in this proposal and fully comply with all provisions of this bid if the contract is awarded.
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SIGNATURE OF LEAD ATTORNEY(S)
Signed by Name:
Date:
Signature
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