In re People v. Shank

JUSTICE BOATRIGHT delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶ 1 In this original proceeding, we consider whether the Office of the State Public Defender ("the P.D.") 1 is authorized to represent an indigent party in a civil forfeiture proceeding. The People argue that the P.D. does not have statutory authority to enter its appearance in civil forfeiture matters. The respondent, Alyse Elaine Shank, asserts that the statute that authorizes the P.D. to represent indigent defendants in criminal proceedings contains a general grant of authority for the P.D. to appear in any case where the P.D. deems such…