Public Act 097-1003
 
HB5441 EnrolledLRB097 17719 MRW 62933 b

    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The State Appellate Defender Act is amended by
changing Section 10 as follows:
 
    (725 ILCS 105/10)  (from Ch. 38, par. 208-10)
    Sec. 10. Powers and duties of State Appellate Defender.
    (a) The State Appellate Defender shall represent indigent
persons on appeal in criminal and delinquent minor proceedings,
when appointed to do so by a court under a Supreme Court Rule
or law of this State.
    (b) The State Appellate Defender shall submit a budget for
the approval of the State Appellate Defender Commission.
    (c) The State Appellate Defender may:
        (1) maintain a panel of private attorneys available to
    serve as counsel on a case basis;
        (2) establish programs, alone or in conjunction with
    law schools, for the purpose of utilizing volunteer law
    students as legal assistants;
        (3) cooperate and consult with state agencies,
    professional associations, and other groups concerning the
    causes of criminal conduct, the rehabilitation and
    correction of persons charged with and convicted of crime,
    the administration of criminal justice, and, in counties of
    less than 1,000,000 population, study, design, develop and
    implement model systems for the delivery of trial level
    defender services, and make an annual report to the General
    Assembly;
        (4) hire investigators to provide investigative
    services to appointed counsel and county public defenders;
        (5) (Blank.) in cases in which a death sentence is an
    authorized disposition, provide trial counsel with legal
    assistance and the assistance of expert witnesses,
    investigators, and mitigation specialists from funds
    appropriated to the State Appellate Defender specifically
    for that purpose by the General Assembly. The Office of
    State Appellate Defender shall not be appointed to serve as
    trial counsel in capital cases;
        (5.5) provide training to county public defenders;
        (5.7) provide county public defenders with the
    assistance of expert witnesses and investigators from
    funds appropriated to the State Appellate Defender
    specifically for that purpose by the General Assembly. The
    Office of the State Appellate Defender shall not be
    appointed to act as trial counsel;
        (6) develop a Juvenile Defender Resource Center to: (i)
    study, design, develop, and implement model systems for the
    delivery of trial level defender services for juveniles in
    the justice system; (ii) in cases in which a sentence of
    incarceration or an adult sentence, or both, is an
    authorized disposition, provide trial counsel with legal
    advice and the assistance of expert witnesses and
    investigators from funds appropriated to the Office of the
    State Appellate Defender by the General Assembly
    specifically for that purpose; (iii) develop and provide
    training to public defenders on juvenile justice issues,
    utilizing resources including the State and local bar
    associations, the Illinois Public Defender Association,
    law schools, the Midwest Juvenile Defender Center, and pro
    bono efforts by law firms; and (iv) make an annual report
    to the General Assembly.
    Investigators employed by the Capital Trial Assistance
Unit and Capital Post Conviction Unit of the State Appellate
Defender shall be authorized to inquire through the Illinois
State Police or local law enforcement with the Law Enforcement
Agencies Data System (LEADS) under Section 2605-375 of the
Civil Administrative Code of Illinois to ascertain whether
their potential witnesses have a criminal background,
including: (i) warrants; (ii) arrests; (iii) convictions; and
(iv) officer safety information. This authorization applies
only to information held on the State level and shall be used
only to protect the personal safety of the investigators. Any
information that is obtained through this inquiry may not be
disclosed by the investigators.
    (d) (Blank.) For each State fiscal year, the State
Appellate Defender shall request a direct appropriation from
the Capital Litigation Trust Fund for expenses incurred by the
State Appellate Defender in providing assistance to trial
attorneys under item (c)(5) of this Section and for expenses
incurred by the State Appellate Defender in representing
petitioners in capital cases in post-conviction proceedings
under Article 122 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 and
in relation to petitions filed under Section 2-1401 of the Code
of Civil Procedure in relation to capital cases and for the
representation of those petitioners by attorneys approved by or
contracted with the State Appellate Defender and an
appropriation to the State Treasurer for payments from the
Trust Fund for the defense of cases in counties other than Cook
County. The State Appellate Defender may appear before the
General Assembly at other times during the State's fiscal year
to request supplemental appropriations from the Trust Fund to
the State Treasurer.
    (e) The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly
shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the
Speaker, the Minority Leader and the Clerk of the House of
Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader and the
Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Research Unit, as
required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization
Act and filing such additional copies with the State Government
Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly as is
required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State Library
Act.
(Source: P.A. 95-376, eff. 1-1-08; 96-1148, eff. 7-21-10.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.