LB859

Nebraska LB859 amends provisions for appointing county conflict counsel to represent indigent defendants when the public defender is unavailable.

Nebraska LB859 amends the state's legal framework to ensure that when the public defender is unavailable, courts must appoint county conflict counsel to represent indigent defendants. This applies to counties with a population of 150,000 or more, where county conflict counsel must be employed full-time to represent indigent individuals. The bill also mandates that county conflict counsel cannot engage in private practice and must not accept fees from indigent individuals other than those provided by the county.