{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-22-22-1355.8","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 22, § 22-1355.8","heading":"Award of contracts - Compensation - Appointment of","body":"attorneys for indigents not entitled to representation by the\n\nSystem.\n\nA. In addition to the methods of providing counsel set out in\n\nsubsections C and D of Section 1355.6 of this title, the Board shall\n\nhave the authority to award contracts to provide noncapital trial\n\nrepresentation to indigent criminal defendants and indigent\n\njuveniles in cases for which the System must provide representation,\n\nincluding, but not limited to, renewing any existing contract or\n\ncontracts for the next fiscal year or soliciting new offers to\n\ncontract, whichever the Board determines to be in the best interests\n\nof the state, the System and the clients represented by the System.\n\nAny such contract shall be awarded at such time as the Board may\n\ndeem necessary.\n\nB. For those counties in which a prior fiscal year contract is\n\nnot renewed for the succeeding fiscal year or in which the Board\n\nelects to solicit new offers to contract, the Executive Director\n\nshall cause notice to be published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal that\n\noffers to contract will be accepted to provide indigent noncapital\n\ntrial services. The notice required by this subsection shall\n\ninclude the following:\n\n1. The date, time and place where offers to contract will be\n\nopened;\n\n2. The qualifications required of those desiring to make an\n\noffer to contract;\n\n3. The period covered by the contract; and\n\n4. A general description of the services required.\n\nC. Only members in good standing of the Oklahoma Bar\n\nAssociation shall be eligible to submit offers to contract pursuant\n\nto this section. In addition, all offers to contract must be\n\naccompanied by a written statement of the manner in which\n\nrepresentation shall be made available as needed.\n\nD. 1. The Board shall accept the best offer or offers, as\n\ndetermined by the Board, from a qualified attorney or attorneys. In\n\ndetermining whether an offer is the best offer, the Board shall take\n\ninto consideration, among other factors, the following:\n\na. whether the attorney or attorneys submitting the offer\n\nmaintain an office within that county,\n\nb. whether any such office is the attorney's primary\n\noffice,\n\nc. whether the attorney or attorneys submitting the offer\n\nhave been awarded a contract in another county,\n\nd. whether sufficient attorneys are included in the offer\n\nto competently address the number of cases to be\n\ncovered under the contract, and\n\ne. the accessibility of the attorney or attorneys to the\n\nclients to be served if the Board awards a contract on\n\nthe basis of the offer.\n\n2. The System shall maintain an original of each offer to\n\ncontract.\n\n3. Every contract awarded pursuant to the provisions of this\n\nsubsection which is signed by more than one attorney shall provide\n\nthat every attorney signing such contract shall be jointly and\n\nseverally liable for the full performance of all services to be\n\ndelivered pursuant to such contract.\n\n4. Every contract awarded pursuant to the provisions of this\n\nsubsection shall provide that every attorney who will be performing\n\nservices pursuant to the contract shall carry professional liability\n\ninsurance in an amount satisfactory to the Board. No contract shall\n\nbe effective until proof of such insurance is provided to the\n\nSystem.\n\n5. In the event that only one qualified offer is received, the\n\nBoard may accept the offer, make one or more counteroffers,\n\nreadvertise or provide representation as otherwise authorized by the\n\nIndigent Defense Act. In the event that more than one qualified\n\noffer is received for a county or counties, the Board may accept one\n\nor more of the offers, make one or more counteroffers to one or more\n\nof the offers received, readvertise if the Board determines that\n\nawarding a contract or contracts on the offers received would not be\n\nin the best interest of the System or the clients represented by the\nDefense Act. In the event that more than one qualified\n\noffer is received for a county or counties, the Board may accept one\n\nor more of the offers, make one or more counteroffers to one or more\n\nof the offers received, readvertise if the Board determines that\n\nawarding a contract or contracts on the offers received would not be\n\nin the best interest of the System or the clients represented by the\n\nSystem, or provide representation as otherwise authorized by the\n\nIndigent Defense Act. For purposes of discussing negotiating\n\nstrategies in connection with making one or more counteroffers to\n\none or more offers received, the Board may hold one or more\n\nexecutive sessions as necessary; provided, that any vote or action\n\non offers received and counteroffers made, if any, shall be taken in\n\npublic meeting with the vote of each member publicly cast and\n\nrecorded.\n\n6. In the event that no qualified offers to contract are\n\nreceived, the Board may readvertise or direct the Executive Director\n\nto assign cases from the relevant counties to private attorneys\n\nselected from a list of qualified attorneys who have agreed to\n\naccept assignments of such cases, who have provided proof of\n\nprofessional liability insurance coverage, and who meet the\n\nqualifications established by the System for such assignments.\n\nCompensation for such attorneys shall be as provided in subsection F\n\nof this section.\n\n7. In the event that no qualified offers are received, and in\n\nlieu of assigning cases to private attorneys whose names are on a\n\nlist of qualified attorneys pursuant to paragraph 6 of this\n\nsubsection, the Board may, pursuant to subsection D of Section\n\n1355.6 or Section 1355.9 of this title, provide for representation\n\nfor indigent criminal defendants and indigent juveniles by attorneys\n\nemployed by the System.\n\n8. In no event shall an attorney, who has not voluntarily\n\nagreed to provide representation to indigent criminal defendants and\n\nindigent juveniles, be appointed to represent an indigent person.\n\nE. If a fiscal year contract is terminated before the end of\n\nthe fiscal year, the Executive Director shall not be required to\n\nsolicit offers to contract, but may instead award one or more\n\nreplacement contracts for the affected county or counties to a\n\nqualified attorney or attorneys to represent persons in cases for\n\nwhich the System is obligated to provide counsel, provided that such\n\nreplacement contract or contracts shall not be renewable for the\n\nnext fiscal year.\n\nF. 1. Except as provided in paragraph 3 of this subsection,\n\ntotal compensation for a case which is not covered by a fiscal year\n\nnoncapital trial contract awarded or renewed pursuant to subsection\n\nA of this section shall not exceed Eight Hundred Dollars ($800.00)\n\nin the following cases:\n\na. juvenile delinquency proceedings, adult certification\n\nproceedings, reverse certification proceedings and\n\nappeals, youthful offender proceedings, and any other\n\nproceedings and appeals, pursuant to the Oklahoma\n\nJuvenile Code in which the System is required to\n\nprovide representation pursuant to subsection A of\n\nSection 1355.6 of this title,\n\nb. traffic cases punishable by incarceration, and\n\nc. misdemeanor cases.\n\n2. Except as provided in paragraph 3 of this subsection, total\n\ncompensation for a case which is not covered by a fiscal year\n\nnoncapital trial contract awarded pursuant to this section shall not\n\nexceed Three Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($3,500.00) in felony\n\ncases.\n\n3. The maximum statutory fees established in this subsection\n\nmay be exceeded only upon a determination made by the Executive\n\nDirector and approved by the Board that the case is an exceptional\n\none which requires an extraordinary amount of time to litigate, and\n\nthat the request for extraordinary attorney fees is reasonable.\n\nG. 1. Attorneys paid for indigent defense pursuant to a fiscal\n\nyear noncapital trial contract awarded or renewed pursuant to this\nn\n\nmay be exceeded only upon a determination made by the Executive\n\nDirector and approved by the Board that the case is an exceptional\n\none which requires an extraordinary amount of time to litigate, and\n\nthat the request for extraordinary attorney fees is reasonable.\n\nG. 1. Attorneys paid for indigent defense pursuant to a fiscal\n\nyear noncapital trial contract awarded or renewed pursuant to this\n\nsection shall be paid an annual fee in twelve monthly installments\n\neach equaling seven and one-half percent (7.5%) of the total value\n\nof the contract, or as otherwise provided by contract.\n\n2. Attorneys paid for indigent defense pursuant to paragraph 1\n\nof this subsection shall receive the balance of ten percent (10%) of\n\nthe total value of the contract upon completion of all felony and\n\nmisdemeanor matters covered by the contract. A matter is completed\n\nfor purposes of this paragraph when no additional services are\n\nrequired under the contract. The Board, upon recommendation of the\n\nExecutive Director, may, however, authorize partial payments on a\n\nquarterly basis of the amount retained as reasonable compensation\n\nfor those matters which were completed during the prior quarter.\n\nThe system may transfer the amount retained from the total value of\n\nthe contract pursuant to this subsection to the Contract Retention\n\nRevolving Fund created by Section 1369 of this title.\n\nH. To receive payment in a case assigned pursuant to subsection\n\nC of Section 1355.6 of this title, an attorney must submit a claim\n\nin accordance with the provisions of the Indigent Defense Act.\n\nI. Attorneys providing services pursuant to a contract with the\n\nSystem, shall provide periodic status reports on all such cases, as\n\noften as deemed necessary by the System.\n\nJ. Any attorney providing services pursuant to a contract with\n\nthe System shall continue to provide representation at the trial\n\nlevel in each case assigned to the attorney during the contract\n\nperiod until the trial court ceases to retain jurisdiction;\n\nprovided, the court shall allow an attorney to withdraw from a case\n\nonly after the attorney has made proper application to withdraw from\n\nthe case and the application has been approved by the Executive\n\nDirector.\n\nK. In all cases in which legal representation by the Oklahoma\n\nIndigent Defense System is not authorized by other provisions of the\n\nIndigent Defense Act and in which indigents are entitled to legal\n\nrepresentation by the Constitution and laws of this state, the court\n\nshall appoint legal representation, from a list of qualified\n\nvolunteer attorneys who provide proof of professional liability\n\ninsurance coverage, and direct to be paid from the local court fund\n\na reasonable and just compensation not to exceed Eight Hundred\n\nDollars ($800.00) to the attorney or attorneys for services as they\n\nmay render. The compensation limit may be exceeded if the court\n\nfinds that the case required an extraordinary amount of time to\n\nlitigate.","path":["OK Code","Title 22"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os22.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"3890c4c90647640cb7e2185b1855dcff2e76bdd9a92952c957ffc61bdcd55d91","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-22-22-1355.7","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-22-22-1355.9"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}