Alabama Attorney General Opinion 1979-0095

fi2 CHARLES A. GRADDICK ATTORNEY GENERAL Honorable Michael Crespi Municipal Judge City of Headland 9 Grove Street Headland, Alabama 36345 da-v# 3-8-79 '761- D0096 T14E-ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF ALABAMA • MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36' Municipal Courts - Indigents Cost of representing indigent defendants in municipal court is paid by municipality and • there is no requirement that State Comptroller honor or approve claims for such cost. Dear Judge Crespi: The Attorney General received your request for an opinion from this office concerning the following matter: Must the Comptroller of the State of Alabama honor claims for compensation from attorneys who have been appointed to represent indigent defendants in municipal courts pursuant to a plan of indigent representation adopted by the municipality, assuming such claims are presented on the proper fee declara- tion form duly authenticated and authorized by the signature of a municipal judge? I call your attention to Act No. 617, Acts of Alabama 1978 p. 878 which provides for the payment of the cost of representing indigent defendants in municipal courts. It 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 municipality which has retained its municipal court, instead of remitting the Honorable Michael Crespi Page 2 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. Thus, in accordance with this Act, monies collected for the Fair Trial tax by a municipal court clerk should be paid into the general fund of that city. The governing body of that city will then expend the necessary amount of these funds to pay the cost of providing representation for indigent defendants in the city's municipal court. Any such funds that are not used for this purpose shall be paid into the State Treasury. Thus, the compensation of attorneys• who represent indigent defendants in municipal court are paid by the municipality in accordance with Act No. 617, supra. There is no requirement that the State Comptroller approve or honor claims for payment of these attorneys by the municipality. If our office can be of further help to you, please feel free to call on us. Very truly yours, CHARLES A. GRADDICK Attorney General By- LYNDA F. KNIGHT Assistant Attorney General LFK/sg