Alabama Attorney General Opinion 1979-0184

• • OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL '19- 0©18LI LEELHALA DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL WILLIAM M. BEKURS. JR. EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT WALTER S. TURNER CHIEF ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL JANIE NOBLES ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT CHARLES A. GRADDICK ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF ALABAMA MAY 3 1979 AOMMSTRATIVE eatannit 140111,1 Unless lireteCT MONTOONICRY. ALABAMA 11.11130 AREA (101). 1114-6150 Honorable Lambert Mims Mayor Pity of Mobile P.O. Box 1827 Mobile, Alabama 36601 Probate Court - Mental Health Commitments - Indigent Defense Funds. Municipal Fair Trial Tax cannot be used to pay cost of proceed- ings brought in probate court by city to have indigent mentally disturbed persons incarcerated in city jail committed to mental. institution. Opinion by Assistant Attorney General Knight. Dear Mayor Mims: Reference is made to your request for an opinion from the Attorney General concerning the use of municipal fair trial tax to pay the cost of the proceedings for commitment of indi- gent mentally disturbed persons to mental institutions. You specifically asked: "From time to time mentally disturbed persons who are indigent are incarce- rated in the city jail and it becomes Honorable Lambert Mimi Page Two necessary to file a petition in the Probate Court to protect themselves or the general public to have them committed for observation or to a mental hospital. "In some instances, it is necessary for the City to act as a petitioner, due either to an emergency or because no relatives of the mentally disturbed person can be contacted. "In situations such as this an attorney is appointed by the Probate Court to represent the petitioner (the City of Mobile) sometimes in bringing the pro- ceedings as well as an attorney to represent the mentally disturbed per- son. Please give us your official opinion as to whether it would be legal to pay the cost of such Probate proceedings, including attorneys fees for the petitioner and the indigent mental patient from the funds that are available for indigent defense in municipal cases under Act No. 617, Regular Session of the Alabama Legis- lature of 1978." Your question is to be answered in the negative. Act No. 617, Acts of Alabama 1978, pages 877, 878 states: "Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 5, Chapter 19, Title 12, Code of Alabama, 1975, when the 'fair trial tax' levied and provided for in such Article is collected, the clerk of the municipal court of each municipal- ity which has retained its municipal court, instead of remitting the • Honorable Lambert Mims Page Three receipts from said tax into the state treasury, shall pay such receipts into the general fund of the municipality. The governing body of such municipality shall use and expend so much of said funds as is necessary to defray the costs of providing representation of indigent defendants in their municipal court and after payment of such costs shall pay into the state treasury any funds not used for such purpose. The governing body shall render an account- ing of such funds to the state treasurer on a monthly basis and the monthly report of such funds shall be filed with the state treasurer on or before the twentieth day of the month follow- ing collection." The fair trial tax funds collected by the municipal clerk and paid into the general fund of the municipality are to be used to pay the cost of the representation of indigent defendants in that city's municipal court. There is no provision for using the money to defray the cost of representing litigants or paying their attorney fees or bringing petitions in any other court in- cluding the probate court. The money is to be used only for the purpose of defraying the cost of representing indigent defendants in municipal courts as provided in the act. If our office can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to call on us. Sincerely, CHARLES A. GRADDICK ATTORNEY GENERAL