A. The chief shall designate one or more public defender districts having boundaries coextensive with the boundaries of one or more judicial districts of this state. The chief shall consider the demand for legal services provided under the Public Defender Act [31-15-1 NMSA 1978], criminal case load statistics, population, geographical characteristics and any other relevant factor in the designation of public defender districts.
B. The chief may review the designation of districts at any time. The review shall be based on the same factors enumerated in Subsection A of this section. On the basis of the review the chief may change the designation of any district so long as the new designation has boundaries coextensive with the boundaries of one or more judicial districts of this state.
C. The chief shall appoint a district public defender in each district. The district public defender shall administer the operation of the district and shall serve at the pleasure of the chief. Each district public defender shall be an attorney licensed to practice law in the highest courts of this state and a resident of this state.
History: 1953 Comp., § 41-22A-9, enacted by Laws 1973, ch. 156, § 9.
ANNOTATIONSTemporary provisions. — Laws 1973, ch. 156, § 13, provided for the limitation of the chief public defender to designated districts and to appoint district public defenders during the sixty-second fiscal year to establish pilot programs.