How do I get an OADC lawyer appointed to my case?

Court-appointed counsel through the Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel (OADC) is limited by statute to certain adult criminal and juvenile cases, criminal appeals, and post-conviction petitions. Civil cases and Federal actions do not fall within our agency’s statutory authority so attorneys cannot be appointed through our agency for these types of matters.

Pro se defendants may be appointed Advisory Counsel by the judge in their case. Those appointments are handled through the Judicial Department and are made independently of the OADC. There are two different processes for obtaining court-appointed counsel, depending on whether your case is in the pre- or post- conviction stage.

Pre-Conviction

In order to obtain court-appointed counsel, whether through the Office of the State Public Defender (OSPD) or through the Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel (OADC), you must either request court-appointed counsel (if you are In-custody) or apply at any OSPD office (if you are out-of-custody). In either case, it will be the Public Defender's Office that determines if you qualify for court-appointed counsel. (You can find information about the application process and a listing of regional OSPD offices by visiting their website at http://www.coloradodefenders.us/information/applying-for-a-public-defender/.)

• If the OSPD determines that you qualify for court-appointed counsel, but they find they have an ethical conflict of interest in representing you, they will notify the Court. In most instances, the court then issues an Order appointing a particular OADC lawyer (from the list of available OADC contract attorneys in that jurisdiction) to represent you.
• Per statute, "...a 'conflict of interest' may include, but need not be limited to, circumstances in which the state public defender represents a codefendant or a person who is a witness in the case or other circumstances identified in the Colorado rules of professional conduct or other rules of civil procedure as creating a conflict of interest. Case overload, lack of resources, and other similar circumstances shall not constitute a 'conflict of interest'." C.R.S. section 21-2-103(1.5)(c). You will not obtain appointed alternate counsel for reasons such as disagreement with your attorney over strategy or because you simply do not like the attorney provided by the OSPD.
• If you wish to file a post-conviction motion under Criminal Procedure Rule 35, you must petition the Court having jurisdiction over your case for appointment of counsel. You will have to file the initial petition yourself; our agency cannot appoint someone to help you file the petition. For more information about filing post-conviction motions under Rule 35, please see the self-help section of the Colorado Judicial Branch’s website or click on this link: https://www.courts.state.co.us/Self_Help/postconvictionrelief/. If the judge in your case issues an order for appointment of counsel for a post-conviction motion, either the Public Defender’s Office or our office will appoint a lawyer to your case.
• For cases on appeal, either through the direct appeal of your conviction and sentence or appeal of a denial of a Criminal Procedure Rule 35 motion, you should speak to your current counsel about requesting appellate counsel. If you had appointed counsel at the trial level, your attorney will typically determine the appellate options available to you. If you do not have an attorney to advise you of your appellate options, please visit the Colorado Judicial Branch’s self-help section or review the Court of Appeals Forms and Policies by clicking on this link: https://www.courts.state.co.us/Self_Help/courtofappeals/. If you wish to have a court-appointed attorney for your appeal, you must request that the court appoint counsel for you.

How do I find out who my appointed attorney is?

If the Court has appointed counsel in your case, you will be contacted by the attorney at the contact information you gave the court and/or the Office of the State Public Defender (OSPD). In many cases, the OSPD will notify you that they are withdrawing from your case before or at the same time as the motion for appointment of conflict-free counsel is made to the Court. This means that until the Court rules on that motion and appoints new counsel, you are still technically represented by the OSPD. Our agency will not be able to tell you who your appointed attorney is until the judge in your case has entered the order. This sometimes will not happen for several days or even weeks after you have been notified by the OSPD that they have identified a conflict of interest.

You can always contact the clerk of the court having jurisdiction over your case to determine your attorney of record. Court contact information can be found on the Judicial website or by clicking this link: https://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/County/Choose.cfm If you know the name of your attorney, information can be found in the Attorney Regulation database, including contact address and telephone number and bar number, by searching here: http://www.coloradosupremecourt.com/search/attsearch.asp. Typically, you will be contacted by your attorney before or at your next court appearance, but if it has been more than two weeks since the OSPD notified you that they were withdrawing from your case, you may call our office at 303-515-6920 and select option 0. You will be required to provide a case number, the county where your case has been filed, your date of birth, name (including spelling of your first and last names), and a telephone number or email address where we can contact you. Our office will do our best to assist you.

If your case is on appeal and the OADC has been appointed, your file will be held until the complete record has been prepared by the trial court and certified to the Court of Appeals. Your Notice of Appeal and Designation of Transcripts (which are the first documents to be filed in an appeal) will be signed by either the Director or Deputy Director of our agency. However, those individuals are not actually representing you for your appeal. They will not be involved in your case beyond the filing of those initial documents. After all of the transcripts have been prepared, and the court file is ready, your case will be assigned to an attorney who specializes in appellate cases and is available to take your case.