2007 Minnesota Statutes

611.21 SERVICES OTHER THAN COUNSEL.
(a) Counsel appointed by the court for an indigent defendant, or representing a defendant
who, at the outset of the prosecution, has an annual income not greater than 125 percent of the
poverty line established under United States Code, title 42, section 9902(2), may file an ex parte
application requesting investigative, expert, or other services necessary to an adequate defense in
the case. Upon finding, after appropriate inquiry in an ex parte proceeding, that the services are
necessary and that the defendant is financially unable to obtain them, the court shall authorize
counsel to obtain the services on behalf of the defendant. The court may establish a limit on the
amount which may be expended or promised for such services. The court may, in the interests of
justice, and upon a finding that timely procurement of necessary services could not await prior
authorization, ratify such services after they have been obtained, but such ratification shall be
given only in unusual situations. The court shall determine reasonable compensation for the
services and direct payment by the county in which the prosecution originated, to the organization
or person who rendered them, upon the filing of a claim for compensation supported by an affidavit
specifying the time expended, services rendered, and expenses incurred on behalf of the defendant,
and the compensation received in the same case or for the same services from any other source.
(b) The compensation to be paid to a person for such service rendered to a defendant under
this section, or to be paid to an organization for such services rendered by an employee, may not
exceed $1,000, exclusive of reimbursement for expenses reasonably incurred, unless payment
in excess of that limit is certified by the court as necessary to provide fair compensation for
services of an unusual character or duration and the amount of the excess payment is approved
by the chief judge of the district. The chief judge of the judicial district may delegate approval
authority to an active district judge.
(c) If the court denies authorizing counsel to obtain services on behalf of the defendant, the
court shall make written findings of fact and conclusions of law that state the basis for determining
that counsel may not obtain services on behalf of the defendant. When the court issues an order
denying counsel the authority to obtain services, the defendant may appeal immediately from that
order to the Court of Appeals and may request an expedited hearing.
History: 1965 c 869 s 8; 1969 c 9 s 91; 1986 c 444; 1989 c 335 art 1 s 261; 1994 c 636
art 8 s 14