3.38.050 Superior Court juvenile caseload limits and types of cases.
The caseload should allow each attorney to dedicate the time and effort necessary to ensure effective representation of each client. Caseload limits should be driven by the number and type of cases being assigned and consistent with the standards set forth below.
(1) Probation violations:
(a) One-third of a case up to five hours.
(b) Every three-hour increment beyond an additional one-third of a case; e.g., eight hours equals two-thirds of a case, nine to 11 hours equals one full case, and 12 to 13 hours equals one and one-third cases.
(2) Single count misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor cases (other than domestic violence): two-thirds of a case.
(3) Serious offenses (defined as any offense that as committed as an adult would count as a “strike,” or for which the State has indicated or has threatened to seek a manifest in justice, or which carries an allegation of sexual motivation or has a potential sexual offender registration requirement):
(a) These cases are presumed to be two case credits, up to the first 25 hours of attorney time.
(b) An additional full case credit for every eight-hour increment thereafter; e.g., a serious offense for which the attorney spends 30 hours would count as three case credits and 33 to 41 hours would count as four case credits.
(4) Termination of diversion: two-thirds of a case credit.
(5) Partial representations (this includes exonerations, matters in which there was a conflict withdrawal or private substitution of counsel where CPD had less than three-plus hours in the case):
(a) One-third of a case.
(b) An additional one-third of a case for each three-hour increment beyond the initial three hours.
(6) All other cases presumptively count as one case credit (subject to exceptional circumstances).
(7) Drug Court staffing equals 12.5 cases based on the premise that 90-plus percent of the Drug Court participants are referred thereto by the current Drug Court Staff Attorney.
(8) Superior Court juvenile caseload general considerations:
(a) Individual attorney case credits should not exceed 250 per year.
(b) Representation on a “case” is understood to terminate upon entry of the final disposition and up to two disposition review hearings and/or the matter being outstanding to warrant for 60 or more days.
(c) Final disposition includes judgment and sentence or disposition order (for probation violations), entry of a deferred disposition, and entry into Drug Court (once the “opt-out” period has lapsed).
(d) Continued representation for disposition review hearings beyond the first two such hearings would be credited at a rate of one-third of a case credit for every increment of up to three additional disposition hearings. Post NGRI proceedings will be treated as probation violations. The standards set forth above presume supervisory attorney staffing.