Court again delays start of indigent-defense effort

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court again has delayed its January mandate that indigents charged with crimes get adequate legal counsel.

The court said a July 15 effective date will be postponed until a review of the effect on rural areas of the state is completed.

The high court issued an order Tuesday that said a subcommittee of the Indigent Defense Commission should provide the rural impact report by Aug. 15. The new start date now is Sept. 5.

The latest order follows one in March that delayed an April 1 effective date. The March order also revived the defense commission, which had spent most of 2007 studying ways to improve services to indigents. The order directed the panel to review the standards, make any needed changes and report back by June 30. That deadline was met.

The March order also gave an extension until next January to Clark and Washoe counties, Nevada's largest, for completion of caseload studies that were supposed to be done by mid-July.

The Indigent Defense Commission, composed of jurists, court administrators and equal-justice activists, was formed after a Review-Journal series that detailed problems with Clark County's public defender system.