Amendment ID: S2944-1-R1

Redraft Amendment 1

Non-criminal defendant

Messrs. Tarr and Fattman move that the proposed new draft be amended by striking in line 18 through 23 the following:-" A criminal defendant represented by public counsel in any criminal trial related to the violation of this chapter shall be entitled to continued public counsel representation at the hearing on the petition to order a forfeiture under this section. An owner of the conveyance, real property, money or other things of value who is not a criminal defendant shall be entitled to public counsel if the owner satisfies the requirements for indigency under section 2 of chapter 211D."

And moves to further amend by inserting after section _ the following new section:-

SECTION_. Notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary there shall be a special commission to study the appropriate situations where counsel shall be provided on civil matters based on indigency. The commission shall be comprised of the chief justice of the supreme judicial court who shall act as chair, the chief justice of the trial court, and 3 members appointed by the Governor, 1 of whom shall be from a list nominated by the massachusetts bar association, 1 of whom shall be from a list nominated by the committee for public counsel services, and 1 of whom shall be a member of the massachusetts district attorneys’ association.

The commission shall consider the circumstances for which appointed counsel based on indigency is appropriate and warranted in civil matters under the jurisdiction of the courts of the commonwealth.

The commission shall submit its report together with any legislative recommendations not later than 9 months following the passage of this act.