Section 1.035. Requirements for certification.

  In order to obtain and retain certification under this chapter, an attorney shall satisfy all of the following requirements:

(1)   Application. The attorney shall submit an application under s. PD 1.03 (1) .

(2)   License to practice. The attorney shall be licensed to practice law in Wisconsin and shall be a member in good standing of the State Bar of Wisconsin.

(3)   Residence.

(a) The attorney shall reside in or maintain his or her principal office in Wisconsin. A post office box in Wisconsin does not constitute a residence or a principal office in Wisconsin.

(b) An attorney may be certified for trial division cases in only those counties in which he or she resides or maintains his or her principal office, except that in counties with less than ten attorneys on any certification list, an attorney residing or maintaining his or her principal office in one or more adjacent counties may also be certified.

(c) Notwithstanding pars. (a) and (b) , the state public defender may, on a case-by-case basis, certify an attorney to handle a case if such certification is necessary for effective client representation. Relevant considerations include, but are not limited to, caseload, availability of other counsel, proximity to the court, and cost-effectiveness.

(4)   Continuing legal education.

(a) The attorney shall complete six credits of continuing legal education each calendar year in courses approved by the state public defender. This requirement shall apply beginning in the first full calendar year following an attorney's graduation from law school.

(b) The attorney shall report compliance with par. (a) under the procedures established by the state public defender. The state public defender shall calculate continuing education credits in the same manner as the board of bar examiners.

(c) The state public defender shall offer training for attorneys seeking certification under this chapter. As used in s. 977.05 (5) (e) , Stats., relating to sponsoring conferences and training, "sponsor" means to use state public defender resources to produce and promote state public defender conferences and training programs and "tuition" means all revenue realized from state public defender conferences and training programs and materials.

(5)   Cooperation with inquiries.

(a) An attorney shall cooperate with inquiries from the state public defender regarding the status of appointed cases, and regarding performance or billing in appointed cases.

(b) An attorney who receives a written request to provide a response shall respond in writing and within the deadlines presented with the request. An attorney who fails to do so may be suspended from further appointments under s. PD 1.03 (3) until an adequate response is provided.

Cr. Register, July, 1997, No. 499 , eff. 8-1-97; CR 09-067 : r. and recr. Register June 2010 No. 654 , eff. 7-1-10.